A minimally staffed theme park island full of influencers, what could possibly go wrong?

The story follows Paisley, a true-crime influencer as she’s hand selected to take part in an exclusive weekend at a new island adventure park. It’s a dream come true for her… until people go missing and bodies begin to pile up.

In classic Natasha Preston style, this books will have you thinking you know how it ends - and then you’ll change your mind a few times before circling back through all the possibilities. And this time you are doing it along with the main character. And there is ALWAYS a twist. Or two.

This book was fast paced and highly enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed watching Natasha grow as a writer, I followed her on Wattpad, and this book is an amazing tribute to all her hard work over the years. Parts of this really spooked me. I probably should not have read it in the dark…

I love this author. She is so fun and her protagonists are always relatable. This was terrifying. I was up in the middle of the night in a storm reading this.
This is one of those closed mysteries with lots of twists and turns. I was terrified of that ending, Why did you do that to us!
Oh and the setting was perfection. A pile of influencer teens trapped on an island with spooky rides and a haunted (seeming) hotel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Island by Natasha Preston. When I read the premise for The Island, it immediately caught my attention. Six well know influencers from TikTok and YouTube are invited to come to the Island. An exclusive amusement park for the wealthy. Who wouldn’t wouldn’t be interested? However, once the influencers are on the Island, things are not as they seem. Murder, no cell phone reception, and their way off the Island is gone. Now they have to figure out who the murderer is and stay alive long enough to get off the Island.

The Island kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. And like Paisley, I did not know who the killer was. I was pretty much suspicious of everyone in the book. The ending, though, that’s what really got me. When I got to the end, I went back and reread it twice to make sure I didn’t read it wrong. That was a huge plot twist, and the author leaves it up to you to decide what happened!

I’ve read the authors other YA romance books before, but never one of her thrillers. However, after reading The Island, I’m going to go check those out as well!

Natasha Preston never fails to bring the chills and thrills in her books and The Island is no exception. Enticed by the exclusivity of exploring Jagged Island, an all amenities paid luxury resort and amusement park, six social media influencers are unaware that there is more than meets the eye with their invitation. Someone is trying to sabotage the island's opening, someone after their lives. The Island was a thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and was so shocking I couldn't put it down.

“On of us is lying” meets “And then there were none “ theme executed as trapped on an isolated island in the middle of storm where is cut out from civilization: no phone and internet reception plot line!
The targeted young people are influencers are invited to promote the facilities including the ultra luxurious resort and amusement park.

Everything starts so dreamy in the beginning. True crime podcaster- influencer Paisley is the main character who already gets haunted vibes from the place as soon as she tours around the resort and she feels like somebody is watching her.

Bookstagrammer Harper, video gamer Liam, beauty blogger Will, movie buff James are the other influencers who are also invited to the mysterious island. Malcolm Wyatt is the billionaire who is the owner of the resort accompanied by his full time servant/ loyal assistant Camille Jenkins. The other people who stay at the island are crew members and close friends Reeve, Gibson and their cook Kenna.

All of them are pleased with their accommodations and enjoying thrilling rides but when one of them gets missing and the basement room where the wires and cables of Wi-Fi and phone get vandalized, they realize something is really off about the place. There’s a killer outside targeting the influencers and it could be one of them.

Well, the pacing was good and the ending twists were also unexpected. The reasonings of the killer was a little far fetched.

Overall: definitely readable claustrophobic whodunnit! I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 gripping, young adult thriller, happy Halloween month stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Random House Children's in exchange for an honest review.

This is how I feel in emojis.

🏝️🤯🙀😵😱😈💀🚣🏊🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

Oh my god. From the moment I picked up this book, I could not put it down. The Island features a motley cast of social media influencers/content creators invited to explore and post about a brand new VIP amusement park on an island. And that's where everything goes wrong.

Deserted island with your fallible cellphone? No way, I wouldn't sign up for this. But oh did they agree for the klout. If you've watched Harper's Island, this is exactly what you're getting into - but with influencers. We follow the point of view of narrator Paisley (they all have such gen Z namss it totally adds to the authenticity), a content creator who posts about #truecrime and #unsolvedmysteries as she agrees to this sponsored weekend getaway.

Within a day of arrival, all hell breaks loose as the influencers start to go missing and experience weird tamperings going on the mostly deserted island, staffed by a skeleton crew, along with the founder and his PA.

Everyone is a suspect. Everyone. This was a thrilling gruesome read and it had me flashing back to everytime a character was chased and hunted down in Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Yes, brutal. By the second murder I was 100% convinced I knew what was going on especially since this was something Paisley would be well equipped to analyse and solve.

I was wrong. I started to care for the tiny bits of romance in the story but it also felt pointless to do that in a novel like this because, who lives and who dies? I appreciated how current the author was with modern cultural references to 2021-2022 events (sans covid) and how true crime is such an in thing now. It was a super fast-paced novel that managed to wrap up all loose ends and reveal the plot and motive without feeling like it was rushed.

This one had me on the edge of my seat, or hidden under the covers in the dead of night scared for the lives of all these influencers. Major plot twists at the end and worst of all, that horrid "up to your own interpretation" ending. I'm shook. I had to go back to the previous page and the next page to be sure I read it right. I'm still processing it as I write this and I feel like I need to read more of her books.

Holy crap! As someone who prides myself in solving the mystery long before anyone else, my mind was reeling throughout this entire story. I was clueless! What an awesome book.

I have seen many books by Natasha Preston but this is the first one I've ever read. I have to say I am hooked and I can't wait to read all of her books. With an interesting setting and an amazing told story, this one grabs you right from the start. Now I can see why she is so popular and I am definitely a fan!!!!

Six influencers are invited to a secluded island amusement park prior to opening in the hopes their online influence will draw the rich to spend their money at the park. Given posh rooms in the on-site hotel and having every need tended too… what better way to spend a weekend. Until Will, one of the influencers goes missing and then their whole world gets turned upside down.

I have to say, I’ve never read anything else from this author, however her ability to tell a tale left me breathless. I was ducking and dodging along with the trapped kids. A creepy amusement park background, a room filled with wax statues of the worst of the worst serial killers… and all the while being hunted. This kept me turning pages afraid to close my eyes less I miss the killer. Several times I thought I had it figured out, only to change my mind again and again.

I can’t even tell you how wild the ending is! Whew. Breathless, heart ponding, cat and mouse running, hiding and being hunted is enough to entertain anyone! I am definitely going to explore more from this author.

I can’t recommend this YA thrill ride enough. If your brave enough… and don’t mind being hunted …

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publishers and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Grab this book like a life raft when it’s released Feb 28, 2023. Trust me… you’re going to need it to survive Jagged Island.

Full review to be posted on all social media sites and blogs on release day.

3.5 stars

This was a quick and easy read. Natasha Preston never fails to entertain. The pacing was good and the plot fun. Fans of Preston will not be let down and those newcomers will find a book that brings them back for more from the author.