This book is a mixed bag for me. I did enjoy aspects of it, but there were things that I just didn't like.
So I'm just going to break down the good, the bad and the ugly.

It was really hard for me to get into this book, and I contemplated not finishing it. I usually devour books (and was especially excited about this one after The Wife Upstairs), but it was a constant battle of picking the book up, reading a little bit, putting it back down and forgetting about it. It took me a month to get past the beginning. That's because the story didn't get exciting or suspenseful until they reached the island and that didn't happen until the 25% mark. Everything leading up to that moment was pretty boring and hard to get through. Having finished the book and reflecting back on, I still feel like much of the beginning was unnecessary and could be shaved down to help with the pacing of the book. Additionally, I didn't connect with any of the characters despite their tragic backstories.

That being said, when they finally did get to the island it started getting really good! The middle was very well paced, exciting and claustrophobic. The stakes were high and the danger was real. I felt it right along with the characters, and I loved it!
Unfortunately, the ending was also weak, predictable and took a high level of disbelief due to relying on too many coincidences. That being said, I personally would have been happy with the ending if it wasn't for the final interview and the epilogue. They were both unnecessary and took the steam out of what was a pretty powerful ending.

This is a good summer beach read. I do like aspects of this book and definitely recommend it to fans of deserted island stories. However, it was lackluster in comparison to other island survival stories such as Lord of the Flies or Richard Laymon's Island.

Thank you to NetGallley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A super-fast read who brought me more anxiety than I thought possible. The author really had me feeling like I was stuck on that island with a cast of characters I didn't trust. I was really rooting for Lux and felt everything she felt. As a whole, really enjoyable, but I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I saw it coming from about halfway through the book and, while it wasn't a bad twist, I enjoy being surprised!

Let me start by saying: I will read anything Rachel Hawkins releases. She has solid plots, she knows her audience, and I love the way she creates complex female characters. That being said, I felt like this book had more potential. I liked it, I did. And I know that three stars is often seen as a negative review, but it's not-- I genuinely enjoyed this novel. But did I love it? Nope.
I commend Hawkins for not just writing yet another domestic thriller, on the heels of her success with The Wife Upstairs. She took a risk here, transposing the suspenseful, eerie atmosphere of a Gothic thriller onto a completely different and unexpected setting-- an uninhabited (and possibly haunted) atoll in the Pacific. This book is so detailed and authentic you can almost smell that old boat scent-- the combination of salt water and mustiness anyone who has spent time on a boat will be familiar with. I liked Lux's character, her back story, and her relationship with Nico and how that (d)evolves. But I did not like the Robbie of it all and struggled with staying interested in the Amma/Brittany back story. I also found the last third to be pretty ridiculous, which is what took it from 4 stars to 3 for me. It definitely didn't end in any way I'd have expected, but it felt like the author didn't know what she wanted to do and so she just went all Tarantino on us. I did like the final chapter/epilogue, though-- which is rare, as I usually find epilogues in books like this to push things way over the edge. Overall, a worthwhile read, and I, of course, look forward to reading Rachel Hawkins's next release.

Reckless Girls was JUST what I needed! I was in a reading slump, not being drawn into any books for the month of June and was really ready for "the book" to get me back on track. This was it!

Lux and Nico set sail with a couple of strangers to a deserted Island - where they find more strangers...what could go wrong? I enjoyed the writing, the pace of the book and the characters. While I did find the twist slightly predictable, it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the story.. Thank you Rachel Hawkins for breaking my slump! Reckless Girls is perfect summer read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

A book of cannibalism, love adventure on the seas and an uninhibited island. Young women decide to go on an adventure of a lifetime. Sailing off into the unknown to play on the sandy beaches of a remote island with questionable history.
Exciting, and titillating read

I have mixed feelings about Reckless Girls. I liked the “And Then There Were None” deserted island, don’t-know-who-to-trust vibes a lot and I enjoyed the dual timelines, but I think the end wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly. It felt like the first 70% was building up to something big that then turned out to be something you can see coming. I really enjoyed reading it and will definitely keep reading other Rachel Hawkins books but this wasn’t my favorite of hers.

Reckless Girls was incredible! Despite not a lot happening in the story for the first three quarters, I loved reading the descriptions of the island as well as the time jumps that explained the backstories of Lux, Amma, Brittany, and Eliza. The relationships between all four women, as well as Nico and Jake, were so complex, and I really liked the way the flashbacks enhanced that. I loved the setting of a beautiful yet insidious island, and as always, Rachel Hawkins’ writing style is beautiful. I’ve been a fan of Hawkins’ work since the Hex Hall series, but Reckless Girls may be her best work yet!

I was a big fan of The Wife Upstairs but this story didn’t grab me in the same way. The narrator, Lux, is the kind of woman found in horror movies who runs in to a deserted house alone only to meet an axe murderer – the sort you want to slap and tell not to be so stupid. She ends up on a supposedly deserted island in the Pacific with a disparate group of young people and what happens is fairly predictable. I bought into it fairly well until the last part of the book when it flat out went into fantasy land and became scarily laughable. Overall rather disappointing.

Another good twisty book by Rachel Hawkins. I am not a fan of jumping time periods but despite that, I enjoyed this book. The setting of being on the boat and deserted island was very interesting. I can't say I loved how it wrapped up but a good read!

Thanks NetGally for the ARC

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. When Lux and her boyfriend Nico are asked to take two women to a remote island, they think its easy money. What starts out as an excursion is anything but. This was a quick read.

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!