✨ The Title/Cover Draw:
This book sounded like it would be so great! An island where the VIPs are dying! Thanks to @netgalley and Harper for allowing me to read this ahead of publication.

💜 What I liked:
The setting was so fun. A remote location where people come to unplug. But there are some crazy mysteries. There is a lot to unpack here with multiple POVs and storylines. You will be kept guessing a lot of the time.

😱 What I didn’t like:
There is a lot of descriptive info in this book, and for me, reading was not easy. I have never read a lot from this author so I am not sure if it was just the writing style or this book specifically.

🚦 My face at the end: 😬

💭 3 Reasons to Read:
1. Remote Island
2. Private Membership
3. Multiple POV



🕧 Mini-Summary:
A new exclusive resort is opening on a remote island. But opening weekend holds many secrets and death.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

💯 For more details on the books we read, be sure to follow me on TikTok (@zaineylaney) or check out our Podcast - Elated Geek!

“I guess what we hadn’t reckoned with was that when you give people a mask, that’s when they show you what they really are.”

This was more of a “like” book for me. While I was engaged and wanted to finish the book to figure out what happened and see if my theories were right, I found myself a little bored with the lack of dialogue and a little confused at times with so many POVs. The setting and the premise were really great, and I loved that everyone’s stories were interconnected. I did find it a bit predictable, but there was one twist at the end that I was not expecting and I definitely gasped at that part. I could have used more resolution for this particular twist. This was really enjoyable, light, and a fun thriller read that didn’t require a ton of thinking.

Thanks so much to Harper for the copy of this book!

Thank you to Harper Books for our gifted copy of The Club. This book is available March 1st!

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️
Genre: Thriller/Mystery

For me, the ending saved this book. I had a bit of difficulty keeping up with all of the various character and storylines. I will say in the end the author did do a good job of tying things together. Definitely more a mystery/drama vibe than a thriller.

The plot was intriguing, the cover is fantastic, however I had a tough time connecting to it. It was overly descriptive and moved very slow. The chapters dragged on and finally the last line of the chapter would be something surprising or interesting. When things were finally revealed it didn’t feel that exciting either. I started skimming toward the end to finish it.

I really liked People Like Her so I was pretty excited to read this.
I love a good fake celebrity story and this one did not disappoint. This one takes place at a very exclusive club for the rich and powerful, with characters ranging from the maid, to the owner, to the biggest celebrities.
It felt a bit like clue except you didn’t even know who was dead, but everyone had motives to kill other guests, and everyone had enemies. And also you didn’t know where or how they died.
I was not expecting some of the twists that came but I was definitely not mad about it.

An exclusive celebrity club where everyone has something to hide and there is murder? I'm definitely all in on a book like this. In fact, it definitely had me thinking that there have to be places like this out there. A place where the A-Listers can disappear too.

The first (very long) chapter had me interested as we're introduced to the four main viewpoints being told. However, I felt like the book as a whole was kind of long and drawn out. Trying to keep track of all the people and storylines got a bit confusing too. I did enjoy the premise of the story and stuck with it simply because I wanted to know the ending, but this is a book you will have to pay attention too in order to keep all the characters and stories straight.

I haven't read People Like Her, but I'm intrigued too after reading The Club. Overall, The Club was an okay read for me. 3/5 stars.

Thank you, Harper and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found The Club to be a engaging mystery with an isolated setting and plenty of secrets and conflict to keep me turning the pages. The twists and the revelations were sometimes jaw dropping. Set in the world of the rich and famous, the story is told in 5 perspectives over the weekend long launch of the newest exclusive Island Home Club location. Jess, the newly hired head of housekeeping, Nikki, Personal Assistant to Ned Groom the CEO of Home Club, Annie, Head of membership for Home, and Adam, Ned’s brother and right hand man alternate points of view as well as a News article written about the incident.

I liked how the mystery is set up. The author quickly shares what occurred but not who it has happened to or why. As we dig for answers the author again casually shares more of what happened that weekend. But again, no indication of who the victim is or why. I was blown away by some of the secrets that are revealed and the surprising past connections that existed. I appreciated the deep weaving of our narrators and the VIP guests that took center stage in the story. The author provided complex characters and some that I hoped would the victim.

I felt the epilogue was anticlimactic, which is my our complaint. Otherwise a strong thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper for the opportunity to review this arc.

THE CLUB is a thriller by husband-wife duo under the pen name of "Ellery Lloyd" and it sure does feel like it was written by two different people.

THE CLUB builds upon the stereotype that every celebrity worth their salt has a deep dark secret that someone is going to exploit, but the novel itself centers around the employees of the hot-and-cold Ned Groom, the CEO of an organization called HOME which helms a host of exclusive clubs around the world.

Swapping between altogether too many perspectives, THE CLUB relies heavily on the presumption that readers are too dumb to realize minute details themselves and thus thrusts the details in the reader's voice. "OH HEY," the book says, "IN CASE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE, THIS DETAIL WHICH WE HAVE CALLED OUT EXPLICITLY BEFORE ENDING THE CHAPTER IS VERY IMPORTANT."

Every. Single. Person. On the damn island has a secret. And maybe the assumption is that if anyone was "normal" they wouldn't be worth including, but keeping track of everyone's hidden past and dealing with every chapter ending in a "--but there's something they'd never know" is downright exhausting. THE CLUB focuses too much on odd details ("this brick must've been left there by a wayward construction worker" (paraphrased)) and is obsessed with outfits. It very much reads as if THE CLIQUE series grew up and became murderous.

Overall, I found it exhausting, derivative, and boring. This is a book that knows it's niche and didn't dare test the boundaries.

A solid thriller featuring the rich behaving badly on a secluded island, what's not to like?

In all seriousness, I enjoyed this book. From the beginning, you know that someone's going to die. But the suspense was well-built and it really did feel like a whodunnit at times. Told from 5 perspectives - that of a housekeeper, a PA, a socialite, the estranged brother, and a newspaper feature of the aftermath - the tension continues to crescendo. While I figured out some of the twists, there were still surprises throughout and I was satisfied with the ending. Sometimes though it was difficult to care about certain characters, as they're just getting their just desserts, but I liked it overall. Large trigger warnings for death, violence, drugs, car accidents, and alcohol abuse though, just to name a few.

*Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Oh, this really hit the spot. It read like a better version of The Guest List by Lucy Foley. The connections were pretty easily discernible before the reveals, but I don't think that diminished the plot at all. I loved the setting and the milieu of the world, as well as the article gimmick woven throughout.

A fast paced, whodunit that reminded me of Agatha Christie classics if produced by HBO and given a dash of Gossip Girl / Succession affluence.

I found myself bingeing the book in one sitting since the changes in POVs kept me on the edge of my seat. Although readers may feel as if some of the concepts are hard to believe and exaggerated, I think the over the top bits reminded me of just why I love shows like Succession and Gossip Girl, we’re not meant to be able to relate to the lifestyle! It’s over the top because when you have that much excess, you end up living in your own version reality which made the different POVs while reading so much more enjoyable. A solid read and can’t wait to be able to purchase the physical copy!

Thank you Harper and Netgalley for the eARC.

This was a solid read. The exclusive club member concept seemed pretty basic as first but ended up being the completely opposite. The Club was RIVETING and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was full of drama and twists.

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!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Ellery Lloyd for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Club in exchange for my honest review!

The Home Group is world-renowned for its exclusivity and extreme lavishness. Members are generally A-Listers from around the world, and each Home location allows them to party and relax in five-star accommodations without having to worry about prying eyes, as no phones are allowed.

Home's most ambitious property to date, Island Home, is set to open and the guest list is the definition of exclusive. CEO Ned Groom has put together a three-day launch party, and its success is more important than ever. Island Home is years behind schedule, grossly over budget, and is about to push The Home Group to their breaking point.

As the weekend wears on, sinister goings on begin to happen, and the bodies start to pile up. But who's dead? And how did they die?

The premise of this one sounded so interesting I jumped at the chance to review an advanced copy. Think Fyre Island meets Survivor... Celebrity Edition. I was expecting it to have an air of "locked room mystery" despite taking place on a giant island, and to a certain extent I feel like it delivered that.

I really enjoyed that this was told from the perspective of so many different characters, but I found the secondary characters extremely hard to follow. While each character did add to the story, there was just something about the flow of the plot that made it difficult for me to keep up.

I also never felt like I absolutely could not put this down, and the story pacing didn't quite work for me. The big reveal felt a little lackluster as well. Ultimately I was entertained but wouldn't necessarily classify this as unputdownable.

The Club will be on bookshelves in the US March 1, 2022!

Special thanks to Harper for inviting me to read this book through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Ellery Lloyd's latest, The Club, brings us inside the world of ultra rich celebrity getaways. When Ned Groom, head of the notorious Home Group, opens his latest celebrity spa off the coast of England, only the highest of the A-listers will get an invite to the coveted launch, where they can party to their debauched heart's excessive content in absolute privacy. Only thing is, everyone has dark secrets they'll do anything to protect, and it soon becomes clear that some guests are not destined to check out of their five-star suites.

This was a pretty solid read for me and the writing is strong, but certain aspects of it held me back from really enjoying it as an "edge of your seat" experience that I expect out of thriller to rate it higher. The bulk of the action doesn't really start until the last quarter of the book, so it's easy to lose interest before that, given the amount of description of the mundane before that. And it's hard to root for the majority of these characters; instead, their seediness (which is the point, I suppose) leaves a bad taste.

But the hardest part for me was the premise of the resorts themselves. I found it hard to believe, as it was written, that the world's top celebrities would come to something that felt like an above average bed and breakfast (the "artist-designed" butt curtains clinched it for me). And with a couple exceptions, none of the celebrities felt like true "A-listers," but rather aging has-beens clinging to the last of their riches. But maybe that was intentional, given why they were chosen with invitations to begin with.

While the cover is fantastic and the premise had tons of potential, this was a painful read for me due to the overly descriptive writing. I lose interest and have a hard time engaging into a story when the half page is wasted by describing an object or a surrounding.

Genre: thriller
Pub date: 3/1/22
In one sentence: Exclusive club Home is a home away from home for an exclusive group of wealthy stars - until a new club opening leads to murder.

I love thrillers with multiple perspectives and plenty of secrets, so I was excited to read this one. The description brings to mind The Guest List, One by One, and other "locked room mysteries". The plot unfolded well with multiple layers and unexpected connections between the characters. I also loved the exclusive club environment and found the celebrity and staff egos entertaining.

I read this book in one sitting, so it definitely kept my interest! I wasn't quite on the edge of my seat like I'd hope to be with a 5 star thriller, but I think readers who enjoy stories about rich people behaving badly will enjoy this one.

Thank you to Harper for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review published to Goodreads 1/8/22, to be posted to Instagram closer to pub date.

Ellery Lloyd's The Club has an intriguing premise and awesome setup; you get that Hollywood glitz and glamour told through the numerous POVs of staff members behind the grand opening of an ultra-exclusive resort called Island Home. No one at this shindig is quite who they say they are, and the main whodunit slowly unravels over the course of the weekend.

I never know what my main litmus test should be for thrillers, as it takes a lot to "thrill" me. I will say that I compulsive read The Club from start to finish on a plane and couldn't put it down. At the same time, there were...a lot of reveals that felt slightly random and unearned, and to be honest, I didn't find CEO Ned Groom himself to be all that compelling of a character. He just seemed like a cartoon villain to a certain extent; I think giving him his own POV would've made this whole book infinitely more interesting.

I love this thriller with a great story about an exclusive member club. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going to happen and was not disappointed. The characters are colorful and the setting is perfect.

This so so much smarter than the 'ripped from the headlines' (albeit a few headlines blended together) trashy fun book I was expecting. Simultaneously subtle and riveting.