This is a great, fun read. Nico and Lux live in Hawaii, working to save enough money to repair his boat and sail all over the world. When a couple of college girls offer him a huge amount of money to sail them to deserted Meroe Island for an adventure, he finds it hard to turn them down, so he and Lux agree to finish the repairs and head off to the shores of Meroe, which has a pretty sinister back story of its own. Upon arrival, they discover other people already moored on the island seeking adventure. While at first, they all seem to get along, soon tensions begin to simmer and this sends the story spiraling to its totally unexpected end. I stayed up late to finish this one!

Well, I pretty much devoured this book in a couple settings. When I wasn’t reading, I was wondering where the storyline would go next. I particularly liked Lux. There were some clever twists and turns and it definitely had the gothic creepy factor from the moment they arrived at the island. In the end, I took one star away for the ending. It felt off to me, and without giving away any spoilers, I think one person deserved a better way to be remembered when you reflect on the book. Hawkin’s fans are really going to enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I could not put this book down! From the beginning, "Reckless Girls" checked all of the boxes for a great suspense novel.

From the moment they arrive on the island, you knew that something bad was looming in the distance. 6 strangers together on a deserted island for 2 week, and what seemed like only fun and games soon turned into something far more sinister.

This is one to read, so make sure your schedule is free because you won't want to stop reading!

This book is 5 star! I enjoyed Hawkins first novel, but literally couldn’t put this book down! Reckless Girls is a wild ride, in a beautiful setting with standout characters! Just when I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong! Often times a book drags in the last 20 percent, but not this book! Twists and turns until the last page! I can not wait for Hawkins next book! Her writing is descriptive, her characters intriguing and the plot fresh and new! Thank you so much for an advanced readers copy!!!

Wow! Amazing beach read, I could not put it down. It really kicked off my vacation! Five stars, make sure you put this on your read list!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are living in Hawaii, staying on a blow up mattress in a friend's house. Lux has just been fired from her job as a hotel maid and Nico comes from a rich family but refuses to ask them for money. Nico has a sailboat that Lux wants to go on a trip with him, so when two girls vacationing in Hawaii ask Nico to take them to Meroe Island in the South Pacific, which has a bit of a troubling history. Once there, they run into another couple and have a great time for awhile until everything starts going wrong.

I received a widget from the publisher and eagerly accepted because the setting sounded so appealing. I have no interest in deserted islands because they don't have bars and what fun is that? But I did love my first of hopefully many trips to the South Pacific, so I dove right into this one. It was a quick read and not a bad book. I didn't find the ending to be super compelling, but it was fun while it lasted and a great setting gets an extra star, so it is a 4 star from me.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the author's first book The Wife Upstairs and this one did not disappoint either. There were a lot of great characters that were explored both in present day and in the past. I really liked the concept of being on an island in the middle of nowhere when things start going wrong, a paradise turned nightmare. I will definitely read more by this author in the future!

Lux is a young woman who struggled to find her place in the world after the death of her mother. After following her boyfriend, Nico, to Maui on the promise of around the world travels on his boat, she finds herself stuck in a dead-end job cleaning hotel rooms. When Nico is offered $50,000 to take two young women to a remote, uninhabited island with a questionable history, Lux tags along for the adventure. It seems life is finally looking up.

The unexpected couple they find upon their arrival at the island seem like a great time, at first. However, the longer everyone stays on the island, the stranger things become. An unexpected, sketchy visitor ratchets things up a notch and soon, everyone is revealing their true colors. Will Lux make it off the island with her sanity and her life? Or, will the island's mystery and danger trap all of them for good?

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. Two girls show up to Hawaii and ask a island couple to take them to a remote island. However the island has some other unexpected guests and some unexpected events start to happen. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“What am I when you strip everything else away? I’m a motherf*cking survivor.”

Rachel Hawkins is quickly becoming an author I can’t get enough of. Her slow burning suspense novels give us a subtle taste of classic stories we’ve read before, but with her own modern, morally gray, and delightful spin. The Wife Upstairs was a page turning reinvention of a classic, and Reckless Girls showed up to Meroe Island and served angsty isolated suspense deliciousness on a silver platter.

I honestly could not get enough of this story. It had such a great and angsty build, but then the anxiousness and stress sets in because the suspense is right there and you just know it’s all about to hit. I think Rachel Hawkins did a fantastic job with this book. Making it hard not to root for certain characters and spinning certain situations from multiple perspectives. Just such a fantastic and well written suspense read.

“It’s the island, I tell myself. Nothing is real here. Nothing matters.”

Get six strangers on an isolated island, that’s rumored to be cursed, and chaos is bound to ensue. What starts off as a great time in paradise ends up being, well, deadly. Lux McAllister is our main POV character and from her account she just wants to travel. Life has dealt her a horrible hand for the last few years of her life, and now that’s she’s found someone to love, Nico, she wants adventure. He promises her one of course, but instead of that she gets stuck in Maui working at a less than thrilling job and supporting said boyfriend. Until two college girls show up and want to be taken on a tour of the legendeadly… I mean legendary Meroe Island. They hire Nico to take them, and Nico insists that Lux go along for the ride. I mean, she DOES want adventure, so why not? Problem is when they show up they aren’t the only ones on the island. Want more? You’ll have to read it yourself in January!

Rachel Hawkins does not disappoint! After reading her awesome thriller The Wife Upstairs, I couldn't wait to read this one. Finding paradise on an isolated tropical island sounds like bliss until things turn ugly and there is nowhere to turn for help. A beautiful isolated island is where two women ( Brittany and Amma) hope to have an adventure and hire Nico and Lux's boat to take them there. They arrive and find that someone's boat is already anchored near the island. They meet the people on the boat, Eliza and Jake, and soon hit it off and enjoy their time in paradise until terrifying things start happening. What is going on and who is doing these things? Can anyone there be trusted and are they hiding terrible secrets? The twisted ending was a jaw dropping surprise. I read the book in one sitting and enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico don't exactly have it made in the shade in Hawaii. She works as maid in a ritzy resort and Nico works at the marina on boats. Their dream is to travel, and they even have a boat, but so far, they've barely made ends meet. When two girls decide to hire Nico to sail them to Meroe Island in the Pacific, Lux hopes this will be the start of their dream. Upon arriving on the island, they meet up with a mysterious couple already exploring the abandoned island. then things get crazy.

I love nothing more than a book that just pulls me in and doesn't want to let go. This book did that. There's levity, and mystery, and darkness and intrigue. It's everything you want in a novel. I liked the interplay between characters and the build of suspense. The different threads of the storyline we well-executed and knitted together in a way that made sense to the narrative. I've read several of Rachel Hawkins' books, and they're always an adventure.

This book was so amazing! So I have loved Rachel Hawkins for a long while. I loved Hex Hall series and I LOVED The Wife Upstairs so I was expecting to be wowed with this a-typical "Locked Room Thriller" (I consider a deserted island a locked room for sure!) It felt like it started off a little slow, which was expected. World building, character building. But it really picked up at 47% with the arrival of Robbie. I didn't think I would like the flashbacks to everyones past lives but not only was integral to the story, they were all very interesting as well and when the threads started to weave together it was REALLY un-put-downable.. I will for sure be recommending this one!

A few 20 and 30 somethings on a "haunted" island with a dark past, mixed with some MTV's the Real World drama! I thought Hawkins did a great job building up a creepy atmosphere and keeping me guessing, right up until the end where things fell apart a little. But I had fun reading it, and it's a perfect vacation read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the author's previous work, "the Wife Upstairs" quite a lot, this one, "Reckless Girls" felt a bit flat for me... The "secluded island" trope is a favorite of a lot of thriller writers lately, but this just read like a lot of young people, (especially those so-called "girls"), behaving badly. Add in a bunch of "rich people problems" and ... not so much. There are some twists along the way, but overall, it kind of failed to live up to the author's previous promise INHO. So glad I read it in the hot summer, pre-pub, when I could enjoy the So Pacific island vibe more! I will, however, check out the next work by this author. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author & publisher for the ARC widget.

Perfect beach read! I really enjoyed this one by Rachel Hawkins. The main character, Lux, was likable and I thought the POV was exciting. There were some twists and turns, especially towards the end, that I did not see coming! I would recommend this book for anyone wanting a character driven thriller with a distinct "The Beach" vibe. Remember Leonardo DiCaprio in that movie?! I read a lot of thrillers and thought this one was fresh, exciting, and suspenseful. Highly recommend!

This book was SO good, so, so "unputdownable".

I love a closed room mystery...always. But throw in a spooky island, some douchy guys, some reckless girls and some witty observations and I am all in.

I absolutely could not put this book down. I was antsy when I wasn't reading it, eager to get back to it and find out what was going to happen next.

So well written and such a great ending, I cannot recommend enough!

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy, it is my pleasure to write an honest review.

Who hasn't dreamed of sailing away to a deserted desert island? No one, just me! Well, the rest of you were so much smarter, because Meroe Island has a dark and sordid history. Why are all the good islands already inhabited?
Lux followed her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii, planning to join him on an epic sailing adventure. Unfortunately, his boat gets damaged, and when he can't pay for the needed repairs, Lux is stuck. She is working at a dead-end job and wondering how her life has gone so wrong.
When Nico is hired by Brittany and Amma, it seems like the answer to Lux's prayers. His boat will get fixed, they will make some money, and best of all, the girls also want Lux to join them. They will sail to Meroe Island and spend two glorious weeks away from reality.
Anticipating solitude, they are thrown when they find another couple, Eliza and Jake already on the island. As the dynamics between these six people ebb and flow like the tide, a seventh visitor, Robbie arrives. Suddenly, it seems no one is who they appear to be, and the island's cursed reputation might actually be true.
I loved the remote island locale and since this publishes in January when I will most likely be buried under snow and ice, this would be a great escape read in front of a warm fire. Every character has either secrets, is a liar, or just isn't a good person. Everyone's true nature will be revealed and nothing will be the same after this once-in-a-lifetime trip to paradise. I didn't love how everything ended, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

This was a solid 3 stars for me. It was a quick read and enough action that I was entertained but it also felt slightly lacking. Maybe it was all the characters aligning somehow. Maybe it was that I saw the details coming from the start which made it slightly less exciting this time. Either way it just felt overall eh. One of those books you pick up, enjoy, then move on.

Lux and Nico are hired by two girls named Anna and Brittany to sail to an mysterious island named Meroe. Sounds and looks beautiful but has a creepy past. Off they go and when they get there another couple named Eliza and Jake are there. All becomes happy and a party until well.. it isn’t.

It was a fun book and I would recommend it for a nice easy breezy read.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, a little semi unpopular review is about to come up!

Firstly, I want to talk about things I truly enjoyed about my reading. Then I will explain why I got disappointed and fell out of love with this book!!!

It is delicious combination Di Caprio’s Beach meets Lost Tv series ( a.k.a worst ending series in the TV history) with Lord of Flies, And Then There Were None and a little Dead to Me vibes ) Amma and Brittany’s story)

Claustrophobic island theme is always a big winner for me: think about a haunted place called Meroe Island which is best known for the shipwreck that gave it is name. Up until World War II, sailors of HMS Meroe were marooned on this place and eventually some of them turned into cannibals to massacre the rest of sailors to survive. Only 8 of them survived, convicted and hanged.Did you get hooked? I was definitely sold as soon as I read this info!

Our story takes place in the same place. 6 people’s paths crossed on the island. They seem like vacationers, adventurers whose ages range from 22 to 30! All of them are running from something: their past mistakes, grief, losses, redemption etc.

Let’s introduce the characters one by one and tell who they chose to gather at the weirdest place to have their life changing journeys.

Lux, 25 years old, dropped out of college to take of her sick mother who lost her battle to the big C, working at waitressing jobs to make ends meet because her a.hole father remarried and he did nothing to support his child.

When she meets golden boy Nico, charming, reckless, adventurous boy, who is coming from wealthy family, having recent quarrel with his parents, planning to sail to Hawaii, Lux’s life completely changes. She follows him to Hawaii. As he is having time of his life, she works as maid at a hotel to save the money to repair their boat.

The day she is sagged, Nico gives her brilliant news( actually this is argumentative) He got an offer from two college besties: Amma and Brittany to sail them to Mereo Island (actually it is not an island, it is an atoll. )

They offered him fifty grand. The plan is simple: instead of taking fifty, the girls will pay for repairs of their boat Susannah and after they leave the girls on the island, they can go anywhere they want. They don’t need to stuck in Maui.

Brittany gives friendly, social Golden Retriever vibes from the beginning, as Amma is more introvert, observant, cold and she seems like getting too friendly with Nico. ( sneaky bi*ch alert! )

Well, at least when they arrive to the island, they will never have to see them again. But their plans change as soon as they realize they are not alone at this place. A rich and charming Aussie man and his gorgeous boyfriend already started their own party. Jake and Eliza seem like nice and loaded. They also like to share their goodies and lots of booze. So they both stay and join them.

But when a stranger joins their party: their perfect friendship starts crumbling. The lies they told, the secret they kept start to come out! The island brings out their inner demons and when all hell breaks loose, their exciting adventure turns into a vicious massacre that only one of them could survive!

Well:
Pros:
Claustrophobic island theme, heart throbbing pace, intriguing before-now time lines
Tragic back stories of three characters
Riveting mystery keeping you in your toes

Cons:
I was so close to give five stars to this book but the entire last third of the story was wobbling, bumpy road. The big revelation of the story was a little bit nonsense for me. I screamed to my ereader in the middle of the night ( the book was so intriguing and I stayed up all night and went to bad while I was still cursing to the ending! )
“What whattttt! Is this it! No it can’t! I want better explanation! It needs alternative twist! “
I think the author pushed too hard to create that big scheme. The message behind the characters’ motive was powerful but the execution was not good enough. There were still so many loop holes.

I still devoured this book in one sit. Its ending was not as bad as Lost TV series but I think this brilliant author whose entire books were devoured by me can wrap up the entire story with more satisfying conclusion.

I was expecting more! Especially the promising beginning and riveting pacing gave me so much hope. So I stick with my solid three stars.

I’m looking forward to read next work of the author. I’m sure the next one will be better!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.