3.5/5

I mostly enjoyed this book. The pacing was fantastic, I love short chapters and I didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed the duel timelines between “The Nacka Four” and the bachelorette party. Knowing the partial truth about the four women who “disappeared” right at the beginning of the book kept me wondering what exactly happened to them. I also found Tessa’s story as being a disgraced true crime podcast host really interesting.

Now for the things that I didn’t love. I thought the climax felt a little rushed and as someone else said perfectly “soap opera-y.” There were also some dialogue that I didn’t think really moved the plot forward and just made some characters one noted. I just was expecting more whether that be a twist or something.

Thank you Netgalley for another wonderful opportunity to read a book before it is published.

The book started off slow. I noticed that there were many uses of God and Jesus in vain. Those curses made it hard to read.Aside from that, the story picked up once Tessa arrived at the island for the bachelorette party. Throughout her stay on the island, she felt unease, especially, with her current obsession and fascination of a disappearance case on the island years ago.

I felt that same unease as Tessa because small islands are just the perfect settings for a little bloodshed. The twists and turns of this book is impeccable. I find myself being frustrated with some characters like Mikaela and Lena but the character dynamics are what you would expect in a friend group and the dynamics evolve as things start to unfold. I like how the characters grow closer at the end and there is a sort of redemption arc as Tessa was encouraged to make amends for her past mistakes.

I like that the book has a happy ending. This book is definitely a page-turner. Once things started picking up, I did not want to put the book down and eat lunch but the wait was worth it.

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of The Bachelorette Party in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed this book! As someone who loves thrilling stories set on islands filled with drama, this was a delightful read. I appreciated how expertly the author wove everything together, creating strong connections throughout the narrative. The shifts between past and present added an intriguing layer to the story. If you're a fan of murder mysteries that delve into layers of paranoia and fear, this book is sure to be a thrilling experience for you.

This was my first book by Camilla Sten, I've heard great things about her. Unfortunately, this just fell short for me. The timeline jumps with multiple characters was hard to keep up with at times. I do plan on checking out Stens older works since I have heard good things.
Thank you netgally for the ARC.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced reader copy! I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed the plot and gave it a solid 4 stars.

A true crime enthusiast (and former podcast host) gets the chance to attend a bachelorette party near the site of a decade old mystery involving 4 missing women. This book had flashbacks from 10 years ago mixed with present day. While I really enjoyed this book I didn’t find it all that original. This was a solid 3.5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such a good thriller! It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire read. I really enjoyed the multiple timeline POV. Secrets, Lies, and "friends"

The problem with murder mysteries, is you gotta care about at least one of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

If you’re a fan of classic scary movies like Scream/I Know What You Did Last Summer, and enjoyed The Guest List, then this book is for you!
This book had all of the characteristics of a thriller that I love: dual timelines, locked-room murder mystery, troubled main character, secluded secret location, an atmospheric setting, and a prior mystery needing solved. The plot was intriguing, and the crazy chaos throughout kept me on the edge of my seat and hooked from beginning to end.
This is the second book from this author that I have enjoyed and I look forward to reading more from her.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quick read and page turner. It keeps you on your toes the entire time! I loved trying to guess throughout the book where it would go! It was a bit predictable, but overall a great book! Only docked for 1 star because it was so hard to follow and remember all of the characters in the book!

The book was beautifully written. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

Plot kept me off my feet and at the edge of my seat the whole time. The ensemble cast was interesting to follow. The reveal caught me off guard. Overall I enjoyed this.

Tessa’s life as a true crime podcaster has exploded and when she is invited to a Bachelorette Party on a private island, she jumps at the chance to try to revitalize her career by finding a break in the case of a decades old mystery about four girls who disappeared there.

I read through this book rather quickly and the pacing was good, jumping between the past and present, however I really didn’t connect with any of the characters which left me wanting more. The ending was dramatic and over the top however the overall story had me engaged which is where the 3 stars comes from.

Publishing June 10, 2025, thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was just alright, I enjoy this author's other two books, and I think this was just very generic for them. I think the setting did it a disservice, to the point that it just felt very predictable in ending and in pacing. All in all it was fine, but nothing memorable.

This is why I can't have girl friends. Loved the name Matilda in this book. Loved the story. Can't wait to read more.

This book has some real "horror movie" energy. Remember the geico commercial awhile back where there were kids running away from a murderer and they hid behind a wall of chainsaws instead of driving away? This book is like that. It reminds me of the Scream/I know what you did last summer time frame of cinema. The characters are beautiful, mostly female, some of them are basically interchangeable. The only reason why there are 4 women in the first set of murders and 5 in the second set is to heighten the body count and make it bloodier. It is a big riot and obviously, as they say, a "page-turner." I read it in one sitting.

Dual time frames- 2012 when a group of 4 friends goes on their annual girls trip to a remote island with no coverage. 2022 when a bachelorette party goes to the same island, which now has a mindfulness resort on it as the first guests. The most interesting character is our main character in 2022, Tessa. She recently was a true crime podcaster but had some sort of problem a "mistake" that ended her career, which we find out later in the story. She is single and bisexual, there is an interesting conversation with one of the bridesmaids who is demonstrating what biphobia sounds like, in her ignorance. Most of the tertiary characters are generally pretty one dimensional, as there isn't time to develop them.

Although this takes place in Sweden, and all of the first names and surnames are quite Swedish, it comes across as pretty American. I enjoyed the story and didn't guess the ending. If you read a lot and enjoy a good slasher film, you should pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Book to be published June 10, 2025. Just in time for wedding season.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Sten and St Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third novel from this author and every single one has been amazing. I love her writing, I love the gore level and I love the twists. This one has less scares and less gore and is more thriller than horror. But that’s okay, it was so well done! Such a good premise and twists!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy

Some friends go to an island for a bachelorette weekend of hiking, yoga, and vegan food. What could possibly go wrong?

12 years ago a group of friends all vanished. And now, another group has come to the island to enjoy themselves. Past and present timelines. Forced yoga. Something sinister is going on.

I enjoyed the book but it felt a bit long. I wanted more from the ending. And the disgraced podcaster.

Ok. I really liked this. The time jumps were really getting to me at the beginning but they ended up working for the story. The story in itself was pretty interesting. My mind tried to over complicate the plot (which was fun for me but absolutely not what was going on). I don’t know if I would compare this to Scream. But that’s just me. I do think this is a pretty good thriller/horror.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for the copy of this ARC! This will be out in June of 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A group of women travels for a bachelorette party to a remote island that was the backdrop for a 10-year old mysterious disappearance of a similar group of women. What could possibly go wrong?

This book was immensely predictable but still very entertaining. The serene, beautiful setting contrasted well with the murders that you knew were coming eventually. I usually prefer thrillers that jump right into the action, but this author took time to build the characters and their relationships. By the time the violence began, I genuinely liked most of the characters and was invested in whether they lived or died - including the killer!

On a side note, the author presented a side of the “true crime” world that I’m willing to guess most of us hadn’t thought about prior to this book. It really makes the reader think about the humanity of murder victims and their families, who are truly not here for our entertainment.