I found this quite a slow and repetitive read .I wondered if it was aimed at the teen audience ?I found Jody quite annoying, I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen .I think it should have been called The Festival .The ending was pretty far fetched .Sorry just not for me .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this one! i was super excited for this one as i love Sarah's books! This book was very messy but i really loved the main character Jody, i really felt for her and her journey. I just felt the rest of the book was a bit all over the place.

The Island
Sarah Goodwin

‘I couldn’t tell anymore what was paranoia and what was reasonable suspicion.’

The start was slow and laborious, setting the tone but nothing that exciting. But then Roisin goes missing after the first night at Lethe Festival, the night when Jody glimpses sight of Nick. Roisin looks similar to Jody, is that a coincidence or something more sinister?

‘It all felt very precarious suddenly. Like we were just waiting for some trigger to turn everything on its head.’

It very soon becomes evident that something about the festival is wrong. Lack of security, no phone signal, people going missing. And plenty of other dodgy stuff underfoot. But once you’re in, there’s simply no way out, giving us a kind of locked room mystery.

‘A way out. I felt like a moth battering against a window, powerless to escape.’

The premise is good and the build up solid but for me it wasn’t as thrilling as I anticipated. Still a very solid read but not one to rave about.

‘It felt like feeling too ugly to be catcalled - I knew it was really screwed up to feel invalidated by it, but I was hurt just the same.’

The Island is released August 15th, 2024.

“Come on, you can’t just blame him for everything that goes wrong. Even if he deserves it. You’ll drive yourself nuts.”

(REVIEW POSTED 13th AUGUST 2014)

The premise of this book sounded interesting. Three roommates won a trip to a festival that was supposed to be music and fun but when they got there the conditions were not what they expected. They compared it to the Fyre Festival.

I thought that the book started out pretty slow and they spent a lot of time trying to foreshadow situations. I struggled to get into it but once they actually got to the festival it picked up for me. I saw the big reveal coming so I wouldn’t say I was shocked by anything but the story behind it was a little unbelievable.

The book was just okay to me and it probably could have been quite a bit shorter. Cutting some of the story out would not have affected the book as a who ruin my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This novel covers so much, it’s a locked in type read as most of the ‘action’ takes place on a Greek Island at a music festival, and it’s also a very accurate look at the symptoms of overthinking and anxiety.
While very different from what I expected from the blurb and the cover this is a worthwhile read dealing with some very serious subjects.

Jody and her two friends have won tickets to the Greek music festival everyone is talking about, which promises luxury and immersive experiences. Once there they are disappointed to find it is nothing like promised. Soon shocking events occur. Will they make it away from the festival?

I was intrigued to read this as it seemed a similar plot to real events which I found fascinating at the time and also trope I usually enjoy. I have read most of this author’s previous books, some I have liked more than others, but I especially loved Stranded. Although this was a (sort of) similar concept to Stranded, I didn’t find it as entertaining, likely because the sub plot seemed to take centre stage. The writing style wasn’t bad but I feel like it took quite a while for the plot to go anywhere and was slightly repetitive.

I enjoyed the setting and found the atmosphere described well. There was a sense of mystery, however due to the pace my interest wasn’t held. The ending was quite unbelievable and I’m not sure if it worked fully. I would definitely pick up another by this author as I know she can write fantastic thrillers. This would suit those looking for an easy holiday read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This book is more about domestic violence and toxic masculinity than the promised fun summer read about a festival going horribly wrong. Jody just left her abusive boyfriend when one of her friends wins ticket to a festival on a Greek island. Jody is still afraid of her ex but her friends convince her to join them. But as soon as they arrive, they learn that this glamorous festival is ill organized and not at all glamorous.



The blurb rises unfulfilled expectations. This story is all about Jody and her anxiety after her horrible experience with her boyfriend. The book is slow and repetitive. It sounded like a fun idea for a story but you get something completely different. It is still an important story but the execution is not very good, and I think the mixture with this ill-fated festival does not work. The story about the festival is bizarre and weird and not well crafted. This was my fourth book from the author and it seems that my rating is rapidly declining from 5 stars for her first book to 4 and then 3 and now only 2 stars. This book just did not work for me.

I really enjoyed this book. Jody, Ari and Carla win free tickets to a music festival on a Greek island. Jody has recently escaped an abusive relationship and is still very fragile. When the girls arrive at the festival they discover it's not all it was cracked up to be, but they are determined to make the best of it. Then Jody meets Andrei who seems to be the complete opposite to her evil ex. But is he really to be trusted? All sorts of nasty things start to happen from then on. This is a real page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end! It will certainly put you off the idea of music festivals!!!
Thanks to Netgalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

A thriller book set at a festival is all I needed to dive headfirst into this book, the setting, the characters and the intensity was so well done.

A locked island thriller of sorts with an unreliable narrator in Jody who along with her friends Ari and Carla is stuck on a Greek island that isn't what they thought it would be. They won the tickets to the festival and expected a joyous lush place but it's not-it's hot, it's decrepit, and there's a creepy problem. And hovering over it all is Jody's toxic relationship with her controlled ex Nick. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It wasn't what I thought it would be but it made for a good read.

I've always enjoyed Sarah Goodwin's books. She excels in creating difficult and sometimes dangerous situations for her characters and leaving the reader wondering how it will all play out. In The Island begins in the future, where Jodie, attending a music festival in Greece, is trying to escape from someone. She is pushing through crowds of people and then the unthinkable happens. A shout goes up that someone has been stabbed, creating havoc among the festival-goers, and knocking her to the ground.
On the surface, it seems Jodie is someone who wants to fit in. She’s quiet and introverted, seems unable to break away from her mother’s ‘wise warnings’, and tends to be bullied or put upon by others. Currently living with her old student friends Ari and Carla, she has just escaped from a relationship with her controlling and vicious boyfriend Nick. When Carla wins tickets for a festival on a Greek island, at first she is reluctant to go, but on further consideration feels putting a thousand miles between her and Nick might not be a bad thing.
Sadly, Lethe, the island where the festival is taking place, is not exactly the Mediterranean paradise they anticipated. The girls arrive with positive expectations but are soon faced with the fact that despite the music and party atmosphere, the island itself is full of broken concrete, yellow dust, and rotting rubbish. It will prove a testing time for Jodie, with some edge of the seat scenarios.
The Island is an entertaining read, although I have to say I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of her previous books - Stranded being my all time favourite.
I would like to thank Avon, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Island in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was slow & repetitive, it only became exciting towards the end. I didn't connect with the characters and personally didn't enjoy it, but I can see how others might unfortunately a miss for me.

★½ ROUNDED UP ⭐️⬆️
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I want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to review this book.

This destination thriller sounded like a perfect summer read. Based on the ill-fated Fyre Festival, we meet Jody, Carla and Ari, roommates who have won tickets to a new and exclusive festival on a Greek Island. Eager to get away from reality for a long weekend, they jump at the opportunity to go but what they face when they get there is a mile away from what they had been expecting.

As always with this style of thriller there's the promise of a lush and exclusive setting, of glamour and celebrity and a whole heap of drama. I will openly admit that I read this style of book for a thrill fest that's enjoyable fluff and whips by at a fast pace and based on the premise that's what I was expecting, unfortunately it wasn't what I got.

There is a little bit of that but it was overall pretty slow and much more at front and centre was a domestic violence/abuse and coercive control storyline with a character (Jody) traumatised by her previously relationship and haunted by her narcissistic ex (Nick).

It's an important storyline, don't get me wrong, and should and must be talked about, but it was out of place in this type of book and if I'd known I probably wouldn't have picked it up to read. There is a note at that start mentioning the potential for triggers and the author's afterword is an important insight into the book (with potential spoilers) and I wish I'd read it first so that I was in the right mind set of what to expect.

I also felt let down by the ending which was pretty ridiculous and most of the action of the book takes place in the last 20% but by that point I was tired of Jody who had been an unreliable narrator throughout (a trope that didn't work for me this time) and there had been a lot of repetition and running around in circles.

Overall, this was a miss for me unfortunately.

2.25*

Thank you to Avon Books UK | Avon and Netgalley for an eArc of "The Island" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

I’ve been a fan of this author’s previous work and was looking forward to reading The Island. However, I was disappointed with this novel. For me it lacked pace, I didn’t particularly like any of the main characters and I just didn’t enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

I am a fan of this authors previous books so when I saw she had a new release I jumped at the chance to read it.
The plot of this one definitely seems to be inspired by Fyre festival and some other infamous events and as a big festival goer, this added to my intrigue going in to this.
First off, I liked the setting in Greece and this did really add to the atmosphere throughout the whole book. The relationship between the three friends came across as real and to begin with, I liked them all.
We are following the POV of Jody, who is an unreliable narrator throughout the whole book. This is not my favourite plot device but I went with it.
I was invested right from the start and was interested in what was going to happen. As per usual with this author the writing style really drew me in and kept me reading chapter to chapter and it was all flowing well and it was a easy read.
However for most of the story it did feel like it was just the protagonist running around in circles being paranoid, with not a lot actually happening. This did begin to spoil my enjoyment as it began to feel a bit repetitive and my interest dipped.
Most of the plot happens in the last 20% of the book and by that time I was fed up and annoyed with the character of Jody.
I have to say that I wasn't a fan of how this all played out. It felt a bit ridiculous and I was left feeling disappointed by the ending.
This is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination and I did enjoy the first half of it. It just didn't completely work for me.
This is my least favourite book by this author but I would read her future releases.

Adored this so much have already recommend to all my friends. We have all read books of this type before but I thought it was a cut above. Superb write I had never heard of. Brilliant.

Jody, Ari, and Carla have won golden tickets to the summer’s hottest music festival, which promises to be full of glamour, mystique and lots of freebies. But upon arrival at the sun-drenched shores of a private Greek island among influencers and celebrities, the trio are dismayed to find the small festival site far from the beacon of music, art, and "immersive experiences" they were promised. Disappointed but not deterred, they vow to make the most of the trip. Then a shocking discovery on day three turns the festival into a nightmare, and they find themselves trapped on the island with no escape.

This is my first Sarah Goodwin book which sounded so promising on first glances. The book title is misleading and it would have been better being entitled, The Festival, or something similar. The book held my interest although it was slow and incredibly unrealistic.

I found the characters unlikeable, in particular Jody who was more of a whinge than endearing. Not to mention her friends who were equally as unlikeable.

With that being said, I liked the festival location of the book and with a little work, thought the book could be really great.

I gave the book 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher who gave me the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Island by Sarah Goodwin.

I could not put this down!! Every time I thought there couldn’t be another cliffhanger, it came and smacked me in the face! I have read a couple of Sarah’s books before, The Yacht being my favourite, and this definitely was on a par.

I didn’t predict the ending, it was teased all the way through the book, but I wasn’t expecting the big climax.

Thoroughly enjoyed every page, a big 5/5 stars from me!

I think I may be islanded out,having read quite a few set on islands ( reunions,family holidays,honeymoons etc ) and various things,none good,happening I wanted this to be snappy and exciting…..it did have elements of this but seemed slow to begin then very quick to end
Look forward to the authors next book

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC

A tense and suspenseful psychological thriller that gripps you from the start. i really enjoyed the locked-room mystery of the book and loved the Grek setting. It was mysterious and enjoyable. A good summer thriller.