"The Island" proved to be a captivating book. Initially, it unfolded slowly, but as the festival in the narrative commenced, the plot twists began to emerge rapidly. While some developments were anticipated, others were not, yet all contributed to the compelling nature of the story that made me eager to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC.

Thank you for my copy to review .
I read this in one go it was bloody brilliant!
Packed with tension and gets your adrenaline pumping this is a fantastic thriller .
Unpredictable and fast paced this is going to be one hell of a festival weekend .
Friendships ,resilience ,strength and determination run through .

A brilliant escapism story. I loved it. Dark, rende and scary at times, a brilliant psychological thriller xx

Set around a festival that goes wrong from the start. I've read and loved a few by Sarah but this one didn't hit the mark for me. For me, I found it hard to connect to the characters and the pace was rather slow. The twists were OK. Not my favourite read but still looking forward to reading the next book by this author

3.5
I have loved the authors previous work, this felt a bit slower compared to the previous books (this maybe due the others being audiobooks) ultimately Jody got right on my wick (I love an unreliable character, but she was just a moron 😂) I spent most of the book cussing her and her stupidity out.

I did love the idea of the festival, it’s true intentions, and the grim descriptions the author used, ultimately the friendship between the girls were my favourite, i completely got the frustrations of Carla and Ari. Patience of saints!

The end was brillant, Jody finally stood up fr herself thank god!

I loved the idea that this was based on fyre festival and thought that was an amazing premise for a thriller so couldn't wait to get into it. It was a bit wordy and drawn out for my liking, I felt like a lot of parts could have been skipped over since they didn't really move the plot along much. The characters were decent, the twists were fine. You do need to put reality aside, a lot! But it's a fiction so that's part of the appeal. It's a really good thriller of you down think too hard about some of the twists and reveals lol

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




✨ Festival
✨ Abuse
✨ Friendship
✨Psychological Thriller



✨ The story was focus on 3 friends Jody,Ari and Carla . But mainly focus on Jody who has come in an abusive relationship. She suffered from depression but her friends wants to do something to make there friend happy . They won a ticket for a festival, to there surprise they went and go along with it.
With a rocky start of the bus of where they going it ends up it’s true festival.
After some partying and wondering, things happening from someone getting stabbed and missing.
Jody was the one who witness everything till she met a boy. A boy that is just a lie or he really?


✨ writing style was okay. I find it quite draggy but the plot of Jody having Ari and Carla as friends is nice. To support her all the way even though she is struggling. They never leave her which is good. Just the writing style of words is okay.
✨ unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend the audiobook version, the narrator (sorry) doesn’t give justice to the story. It was a nice piece but she’s narrating it without right diction.




✨Thankyou @avonbooks for the opportunity to read this arc for a honest review.


🫶🏼shaye.reads

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. I just with I had written this review when I first finished it as two weeks down the line I am struggling to even remember to premise of the story. Having had a quick reminder to myself…I’m left with two lasting impressions - the friendship between the main character and her two friends could have been built upon so much more, the plot itself was ludicrous and the ending so far fetched it was madness and finally the thought of the festival filled me with so much anxiety. Not my favourite Sarah Goodwin book but I will watch out for the next as it wasn’t all bad.

Jody, Ari and Carla are all living together after meeting at University and Jody having to flee quickly from an abusive relationship. Jody is struggling to keep things together after the events of her past so when Ari wins tickets to a festival on a Greek Island for the three of them she is initially unsure about agreeing to go. However it's not long until the three of them are landing at the Greek airport festival ready.

Once they have arrived at the airport they wait for the pre arranged festival bus however this does not appear and that is only just the start of the poor management the festival seems to have. Throughout the next few days several events happen causing them to question what is actually happening at the festival?

Whilst I enjoyed this book I found that it was a slow read at first with most of the action happening in the later stages of the book. The book had a good ending but nothing too surprising.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with an advanced copy.

🤍 Book review 🤍

The Island
by Sarah Goodwin

The Island by Sarah Goodwin starts with an intriguing premise—three friends win tickets to a glamorous music festival on a private Greek island, only to find themselves in a situation more reminiscent of the disastrous Fyre Festival. The buildup is slow, with too much time spent on foreshadowing and setting the scene. While the story picks up once the festival begins, the twists are predictable, and the “shocking” reveal falls flat.
The concept of a locked-island mystery had potential, but the execution was underwhelming. Jody’s unreliable narration adds some tension, yet the plot is bogged down by unnecessary details, making the book feel longer than it needed to be. Although the eerie atmosphere and sense of isolation were well-crafted, the overall experience didn’t live up to its promise. It’s a decent read if you’re into thrillers, but not one that will leave a lasting impression.

Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

The story follows Jody and her flatmates, Ari and Clara, who win tickets to a festival in Greece—a perfect getaway to help Jody bounce back after a tough breakup. Her friends are sure that some sun, music, and fun will lift her spirits. But from the moment they arrive, the festival falls far short of the glamorous experience they were promised. Despite Jody's urge to return home, her friends convince her to stay. As the festival progresses, things take a strange turn—her passport vanishes, and she’s sure she spots her ex in the crowd. Suddenly, she’s not so sure she can trust anyone, including her closest friends.

I found it difficult to connect with Jody, and the story felt like it took a while to gain momentum. The action only really picks up in the second half, when the festival chaos is in full swing, but even then, it didn’t quite feel believable to me. While this book wasn’t a hit for me, it might be a good pick for those who enjoy lighter thrillers or are new to the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Avon Books and author Sarah Goodwin for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC.

After fleeing from her violent ex-boyfriend, Jody is staying with Ari & Carla who she knows from a houseshare situation at university a couple of years ago. After a run-in with her ex, Jody has been letting her coursework & attendance slide & generally feeling down, so when they win tickets to a music festival on a private Greek island, it seems like the perfect antidote.

When they arrive though, things are not as advertised - instead of the luxury they were expecting, the beach is covered in broken concrete blocks & rubbish, the food & drink is low standard, & the whole venue smells of rotting food. Jody wants to go home although she is persuaded to stay by her friends, but as time passes, she begins to wonder if she can trust them, especially when her passport disappears & she's sure she glimpses her ex in the crowd.

Reviews seem quite split on this one but my rating sort of falls in the middle. It definitely wasn't quite as thrilling as the synopsis made it sound, in fact Jody's continuous doormat ways were a little irritating, but there was enough to keep me interested in reading on. It turned out to be a just- above-average thriller, with some good twists & turns, but the ending was a little unrealistic (& believe me, I'm underselling it here). There were good points though & as I have some of the author's other books, I will be giving them a read at some point. 3.5 stars (rounded up).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for the chance to read this ARC book for my review.

I haven’t read this author before so was looking forward to it. The story is based around the character Jody and her flatmates Ari and Clara and the winning of tickets to a festival called Lethe in Greece. Fab idea to set the scene at what should be a festival of a Glastonbury feel just with wall to wall sunshine however all is not what it seems.

The story line was slightly slow for me as the reader with Jody story taking time to unravel. With the action taking part in the second half of the book when the festival is in full swing. This is where the action comes through but it would have been good to have a few more points throughout the book. This book would definitely be highlighted with a few trigger warnings and at times the story was too long to be pulled out. Yes it got gripping near the end when the plot opens up but also predictable however I don’t know this authors style within their other books which others may love.

I do see this book by the pool and for those who don’t want a heavy thriller type book.

Not one of her best in my opinion. It seemed to read like a teen book and I found the story garbled and silly. The characters were very lame and silly and the story just meandered along. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

5 stars - engaging and well written, this fast-paced story really ramped up the tension throughout. Sure there were times when you face-palm because the MC may be a little bit dumb, but overall it was a believable and unputdownable book. I read this over two days and I just kept finding excuses and time to pick it back up again. I loved it

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.