Unfortunately I just couldn’t finish this book at about the 40% mark. The premise seemed really interesting, but it was challenging to get into. The time line jumping and characters were hard to keep track of and I just couldn’t connect to the story. This was my first book by this author and I’ll def give her another try.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.

This was 90s slasher film meets classic whodunit mystery novel. I loved the eerie atmosphere Sten created by having this take place on an isolated island full of secrets. I felt an uneasy vibe from the get go, which really added to the reading experience!

I found it a little confusing to keep all of the characters straight from both timelines and thought the book slowed down in the middle. However, it did pick up again towards the end and then I couldn’t put it down! Overall, I really enjoyed this and would recommend.

Sadly this one just didn’t hook me. I found myself confused with the timelines and the many characters that I was having a hard time keeping up with. This was my first book by the author but I requested because the plot sounded like a story I would enjoy and I loved the book’s cover. Overall it was fine and picked up towards the end but I just didn’t love this one. It took me over a month since I started it to finish so I just was not invested in the characters enough to want to pick it up again.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This will be published tomorrow, June 10th!

The Bachelorette Party is a gripping thriller that combines elements of mystery and suspense in a chilling narrative. The story was overwhelming with all the characters and I had trouble keeping track of who was who. The storyline and timelines also shifted and it was hard to follow. I also felt like is was slowI have loved all of Sten's books but this one wasn't my favorite. The book did have a lot of unexpected twists, secrets and tension.
The novel follows Anneliese, a family therapist, and her friends as they arrive at Baltic Vinyasa, a new mini-resort on the island. Among the guests is Tessa Nilsson, a true-crime podcaster whose career was derailed by a previous investigation. As the group settles in, unresolved mysteries of the island begin to surface, which leads to a lot of suspenful events.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's press for the advanced copy.

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St.Martin's Publishing for the ARC of "The Bachelorette Party" in exchange for an honest review.

You would think that by now, murder mystery characters would know enough to stay off of small remote islands as sites for wedding, parties, reunions, readings of a wealthy relative's last will and testament .......or a bachelorette party. Destination get-togethers are almost always doomed to become Final destination get-togethers.

Some ten years ago in Sweden, four women used one of those uh-oh islands off the coast for their annual just-us=girls celebration. And were never seen or heard from again, making them the obsession of true crime podcaster Tessa Nillson. But now, ten years later, a tragic incident upended and ruined her career (and livelihood) as a podcaster.

Tessa sees a chance at redemption when she's invited (along with her sister and three other friends) to her bestie Annaliese's bachelorette yoga retreat party. Anyone care to take a wild crazy guess as to where this destination delight will take place?

What??!! You mean to say the women are going to that very same uh-oh island where those poor four girls went bye-bye-bye forever?

Uh-oh.

As if we didn't know, Tessa's attempts to uncover the mysteries of the island and the missing girls go awry when a series of not-all-that-unexpected twists reveal themselves. Also arriving around the same time - a brutal, protracted horror movie finale which puts everyone in the most horrendous jeopardy imaginable.

Even with all these familiar tropes employed, I still found this book effectively paced and an engrossing page turner. But if you're no fan of lengthy ultra-violent slasher-movie type finales with no end of tragic collateral damage, I wouldn't recommend it.

On the other hand, if you gravitate to those remote island thrillers with an escalating casualty rate, here's your final destination vacation waiting for you to book passage........just by reading the book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.
I was very drawn into the location and plot of this book, but I didn’t care for the execution. From the very beginning, it was quite obvious who the bad guys were going to be. And I mean very very obvious, and that unfortunately took away a lot of the likeness I have for this book. I hate being able to predict and know the ending. I also felt like there were too many characters, like a lot to keep track of. The setting was great, very dark and atmospheric.
I felt like it was a slow start, and then when it got to the good stuff, it sped up way too fast and everything happened very quickly, which is why I didn’t care for the execution.
Tessa’s backstory was great, and I didn’t see that coming for her. When it was revealed, my eyes went wide.
It was a good concept, I just wish it was executed a little bit better. It didn’t really fit my style of reading.

This was pretty good. It was well written, and it was quite entertaining. The book takes place on an old, isolated island off the coast of Sweden. On this island, four friends meet every year. They meet to catch up and just escape their lives for a bit. However, things go very very wrong. Ten years later a true crime junkie can't shake the story. When her friend is getting married, she is stoked that the bachelorette party will take place on this island. From there the story picks up and a whole lot of things get going!
This was well written. I mostly enjoyed the ending though found it a bit out there. I had the chance to read the book and listen to the audio of this story. I definitely recommend either option. The narration was fantastic in the audio version, but the story reads well as a book, too. I liked this.

This book had good pacing in the beginning and I was intrigued by the mystery. I found the characters hard to connect with and lacking depth. It became hard to keep track of all the characters especially with the dual timeline. I enjoyed the book overall, but it fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Who killed Tilly, Anna, Linnea, and Evelina?

There's always something atmospheric about a deserted island, and Isle Blind is no exception.

But 10 years later, a new hotel has been built on the island and a group of women is invited to have their bridal party at the soft opening. One requirement - leave all electronic devices at the door. One of the women, Tessa, happens to be there for an ulterior reason: she's obsessed with the murders, presumed accidental drownings, of the Nacka Four as the women were known. She's fallen into disgrace as a podcaster for her aggressive pursuit of a former story, and she thinks this could be the case that will put her in the ratings again.

When Tessa steps foot on the island, her spidey sense is tingling. I love how Sten made comparisons between the women from the past and the current group (although I kept getting the name Matilda, from the first group, and Mikaela from the second group, confused)

Sten manages to ramp up the book during the last third of the book; I know, because I was holding my breath the whole time. I was also surprised to find I had tears glistening at the corners of my eyes reading the final chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's for providing me with an advance reader's copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Camilla Sten knows how to set a scene, and here she’s in her element. What starts as a celebratory getaway in the woods quickly devolves into something much more unsettling. The remote forest setting is perfectly claustrophobic, and as tensions rise among the group, Sten masterfully taps into that creeping sense of unease where you’re never quite sure what’s real..... or who to trust.

The characters feel complex and layered, especially as long-simmering resentments and secrets come to light. I appreciated how the story explores the emotional dynamics of friendship, loyalty, and the messiness of past wounds, without ever losing sight of its central mystery.

The pacing is intentionally slow at times, and while that worked to build tension, there were moments when I wished the plot pushed forward just a bit more quickly. Still, the payoff is satisfying and thoughtful, and the final act pulled me in completely.

This is a great pick for readers who enjoy character-driven thrillers!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Tessa is at her lowest point and is dreading going on a bachelorette trip in the form of a yoga retreat. On the other hand, her inner true crime lover is intrigued about the location and the disappearance of four girlfriends 10 years earlier. She thinks there might be more to the story and if she can get to the bottom of what really happened on the island all those years ago, her podcast career might be able to make a comeback.

The Bachelorette Party is full of suspense and I loved the little blips of flashbacks. I did not predict that ending at all and highly recommend for a fun, summer thriller!

Thank you to Camilla Sten, St Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have enjoyed Sten’s other works tremendously, so I had high expectations for this one. There’s nothing glaringly wrong with this. The pacing was good, the multiple timelines worked and flowed with one another, and the writing was gripping. However, I guessed the reveal very early on, and I never connected with the characters, and I hated the assumptions our MC made because I felt like she should’ve known better.

All in all, this was a solid popcorn thriller you can read in a day. It has an eerie setting, a locked-room trope, and quick pacing perfect for those that enjoy those.

Four best friends would go to Isle Blind for time away from everything and no one knew where they were actually going. When they didn’t come back it was basically brushed off as a boating accident. Tessa was a writer and she was interested in knowing what really happened. She made sure she was invited there and she began snooping around to get clues. But it turned out to be quite a horrific time to try to stay alive. I thought I had it figured out early in the book but I was definitely not even close.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an engaging thriller that maintained my interest throughout. A group of friends travels to a secluded island for a bachelorette weekend, but events soon take a sinister turn. The audiobook version was particularly enjoyable, with excellent narration that vividly portrayed the unfolding chaos. The characters in this story exhibit complex and unpredictable behavior, and the use of a dual timeline added an additional layer of suspense. Overall, it was a compelling and intricately plotted narrative with a dark undertone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of The Bachelorette Party, as well as Camilla Sten for another great story.

I'm sorry to say but I could not finish this book at about the 35% mark. The premise seemed interesting but it was very challenging for me to get into this book. The characters and timeline jumping were very hard to keep track of and I was not able to connect to either the story line or the characters. As this is the first book by this author I have read it's possibility her writing style but it is just not for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for a digital ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

The Bachelorette Party is a captivating novel set on a remote island off the coast of Sweden, and I must say, it was a thrilling ride from start to finish. The story masterfully intertwines the lives of four childhood friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea, and Evelina—who share a secret annual tradition, with the gripping quest of Tessa Nilsson, a true crime podcaster determined to uncover the mystery of their disappearance.

The author does an excellent job of painting the serene yet eerie atmosphere of the island, making it almost a character in its own right. The juxtaposition of the friends' carefree gatherings with the underlying tension of their eventual disappearance kept me hooked. The narrative seamlessly shifts between past and present, revealing layers of secrets and building suspense.

While the plot is engaging and the characters well-developed, there were moments where the pacing felt a bit uneven. Some parts of the story could have been tightened to maintain the momentum. However, the unexpected twists and the ultimate resolution were satisfying and left me pondering long after I turned the last page.

Overall, this book is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a mix of mystery, friendship, and a touch of revenge. It's a story that keeps you guessing and leaves you eager to uncover the truth. I highly recommend it to fans of suspenseful and atmospheric novels.

Ah the locked island revenge mystery! Tessa a podcaster who has been disgraced (no spoilers) has been and continues to be fascinated by the Nacka four, four young women who simply disappeared ten years ago. Now the sister of one of them has built a luxury yoga retreat where Tessa and her pals are meant to be celebrating an upcoming wedding. Not so fast- there's a villain out there. This has a lot of characters and two time lines so you must pay attention. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a fast paced popcorn thriller that will keep you turning the pages.

I loved the idea of this book! The dual view messed me up and there were so many characters at the beginning I got confused and a bit lost! But I've all this was a good book!

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten is a locked room-esque thriller about a group of girls who go to a remote island for a bachelorette party. Which also happens to be the same place four girls disappeared from a decade ago.

I liked the premise of this book, however at times the dual timeline got a little confusing. I also wished for a little more detail around some parts of the ending. I will definitely read future books by Camilla Sten.

This was a nice early summer read. It has loads of suspense, questionable characters, and a few good misdirects. Tess is a likeable protagonist and (thankfully) a reliable narrator. The plot really picked up midway and kept me engaged until the end.