I had such high hopes for this book. I recently listened to another thriller with the same title that I ended up giving one star, so I was really hopeful this one would redeem the concept—and while it was slightly better, it still fell flat.⁠
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This story had so much potential. The premise was incredibly strong, and I was immediately hooked by the idea. It's marketed as Scream meets The Guest List, and as a huge fan of both, I was pumped. Unfortunately, that comparison couldn’t have been further from the truth.⁠
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The book starts with a bang—it’s gripping, eerie, slasher-like, and full of promise. But then… nothing really happens until about 80% of the way through. The middle dragged and felt frustratingly predictable. Worse, there were too many characters—especially among the women—with similar names, nicknames, and unclear backstories. I kept getting confused about who was who, and honestly, by the end, I still wasn’t sure which group had gone missing and which was currently on the island.⁠
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It’s such a shame, because this had the bones of an amazing thriller. Sadly, it just didn’t deliver.

FANTASTIC READ!!! This book was suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I couldn’t put it down! Very well written!!

This started strong - a group of women are on a secluded island, together for their annual trip. They are murdered and the reader is left wondering what happened...fast forward to the present-day storyline of a podcaster who needs to redeem herself and has been invited to a bachelorette party taking place on the same island.
This was a so-so read - the past storyline was more interesting that the current day and it just fell a little flat overall.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

A quick read thriller with some elements of psychological thriller, drama, and mystery involved. Some red herrings as the main character tries to find out what happened ten years ago and save herself and her friends as well.

I really wanted to love this one, It has a great premise. Ultimately, this book has a lot going on The mystery of the women’s disappearance in the past, the main characters podcast eternal, and the current bachelorette party.

I did have a little difficulty following along on the audiobook, there were just so many characters, and the past and present characters/settings are very similar making it difficult to distinguish at times. The book works up to an exciting climax, This would be a good one to pick up if you enjoy slasher/thriller movies.

Four friends (Tilly, Anna, Linnea, and Evelina) meet every year and go to a tiny remote island off the coast of Sweden. These four friends have been friends since childhood and they use this yearly one night trip to have fun, drink, dance, and shrug off their problems. But one year, none of the women return. The story now jumps to ten years later. Tessa Nilsson and her sister Lena have been invited to a bachelorette party for their good friend Anneliese. The party is on a tiny remote island off of Sweden, accessible only by boat. They are to stay at a newly built yoga retreat that hasn’t even officially opened yet. The bachelorette party is supposed to last several days and includes Anneliese, Mikaela, Caroline, Natalie, Lena, Tessa. The only other people on the island are Irene, the owner of the yoga retreat, and Adam, the chef. Tessa is a true crime podcaster whose career is all but gone after tragic events. Tessa is hoping the bachelorette party will also allow her to look into the ten year old mystery of the missing four friends, known as the Nacka Four. If she can solve the mystery, then maybe she can get her career back on track. Tessa is convinced this tiny island might be the site where the Nacka Four used to go to, especially when she finds out Irene is the older sister of Matilda (Tilly), one of the missing women. The setting provides for a very creepy backdrop and of course you know the party weekend will turn into something not so fun but the plot keeps you intrigued and moves at a good pace. The characters are a variety of flawed people, interesting in their own way. We mainly focus on Tessa and hope she can get herself together. I thought the characters could have had more depth but I did enjoy the suspenseful story. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on June 10, 2025.

I had a lot of fun reading this book! I love the writing and was sucked into the story right away. I had a little trouble keeping track of the characters is my only issue but maybe that's a me thing lol If your a thriller lover this is a must read. dual timeline, locked room kept me reading it straight through!

I was really excited to read this one since I'd read The Lost Village and loved its creepy vibe. This one definitely has a creepy vibe to it as well. It's really dark with lots of violence, so if you're just looking for a psychological suspense, you might want to skip this one. However, if you can handle horror mixed in with your suspense, you will most likely enjoy The Bachelorette Party. It has multiple timelines with the primary one in 2022 which revolves around the 2012 timeline.

As you can see from the synopsis, the 2012 group of friends mysteriously disappeared, and Tessa, in 2022 is obsessed with the story. Tessa is really the only character who is fleshed out. The others, though they play important roles, don't have much depth to their characters.

I thought that the setting was great for this novel. An island, surrounded by really cold water that you couldn't possibly swim in long enough to escape is you needed to...rocky beaches, uneven terrain...the island was like an unwelcoming character. In 2012, no retreat existed. The minimalist decor in the retreat, built in 2022, felt cold and unwelcoming.

I was pretty sure that I knew who was behind the evil happenings on the island, but I was surprised by some of the events that transpired in the end.

In spite of the weaknesses in the execution of this novel, I did read it really quickly because of the suspense. If you're after a creepy novel with elements of horror and you can put up with mainly filler characters, you might enjoy reading this for a quick escape from reality! I give it 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

You’ve never been to a bachelorette party like this before… or maybe you have? Ever walk into a room and you’re bombarded with so many new faces and names that it’s hard to keep up? Then, maybe you’ve been to this bachelorette party, a “thriller” from Camilla Sten. Hopefully sans a killer, though.

I knew this wasn’t going to be a party I ever wanted to be invited to (like our MC Tessa) as soon as the prologue started. I’m not a fan of authors who offload characters from the jump, wipes their hands after giving them just minor discernible qualities, and move along. Except here, it happens twice, with dual storylines each with 4 to 5 women.

I think there’s a good story here — we follow our MC back to an island where four women went missing a decade before — filled with a slow burn intrigue but neither the parts nor the whole are ultimately worth the trip. Short chapters (at least that’s what appears to be on the kindle) keeps the story moving. You might just want to RSVP “no thank you” and send a gift instead. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

This one started off a little slow, really picked up in the last 20% or so. Four women vanish without a trace while on
while on an annual girls trip. 20 years later, a group of friends go to the same island for a Bachelorette party. The first twist is that the owner of the hotel/resort is the sister of one of the first group of women. Something felt off about Irene from the beginning to me but I didn't think she was going to be doing a whole revenge murder spree. Not a bad read overall just be prepared for it to start slow.

Gah i wanted to love this book but sadly didn't. There were a ton of characters to keep up with and honestly....they were all horrible. I didn't find the twist ending that shocking and overall I loved the setting but just didn't love the book.

I enjoy locked in a room thrillers but this one sort of fell short for me. The characters were Blah! You didn’t really get a good sense of any of them. The dual timelines seemed a bit messy. You don’t get a sense of closure either. I really thought there was so much more that could have been done.

The Bachelorette Party follows several timelines and two parties at the Island Blind. Sten weaves together the two stories leading up to brutal murders and coverups. From the beginning Tessa, a murder podcaster who needs to restart her career had thoughts about the 2012 murder and caught the plot for the 2022 murders well before the rest of the other characters. Although there were too many characters, most who were not well fleshed out, the story progressed quickly. Parts of the story were not believable, but Sten had a fine resolution to the story.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten
Publication Date: June 10
3 stars

Ten years ago, four women disappeared on a remote island during a girl’s weekend. The mystery was never fully solved. Now, a decade later, friends gather on an island for a bachelorette party. Tessa, a true crime podcaster, is convinced the women were murdered and wants to solve the mystery of the four women and the similarities on this island seem too coincidental. Can she solve the case before someone else gets revenge?
I was excited to pick this up, as the cover is beautiful and the premise was intriguing. I found it to be an okay thriller. The first half was slow and there were many characters to track. It took me a while to get through it as I wasn’t fully engaged. The second half picked up in pace and held my attention through the ending. I appreciated the dual timeline as the readers put the pieces of the puzzle together. There was a twist, but it wasn’t that shocking.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Bachelorette Party was a fun, atmospheric thriller with strong writing and a main character I really enjoyed following. Tessa is smart, flawed, and relatable—her obsession with the cold case at the heart of the story gave the plot a compelling urgency, and I liked the way her personal struggles (and podcasting past) added layers to the investigation.

The island setting was eerie and immersive, and Camilla Sten does a great job building a slow sense of dread. It’s got Scream meets The Guest List energy for sure—isolated setting, old secrets, glamorous group dynamics, and of course, murder.

That said, I guessed the twist a little too early, which took some of the oomph out of the reveal. The tension still held, but I was hoping for one more curveball. Still, it’s a solid, well-written mystery with a satisfying pace and mood. Definitely worth a read if you like smart female-led thrillers. And murder.

This book is for anyone who loves girls trips, cold cases, career detours and finding out the truth at all costs. I loved this book!!!

Reading in Between the Wines book review #47/125 for 2025:
Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Book: The Bachelorette Party
Author: Camila Sten
RELEASES on June 10, 2025!!

Sipping thoughts: This story pulled me in, and while I was suspicious of the bad guy, I never imagined they would go so nuts. The mystery was so explosive, and the reason why the girls disappeared was shocking. I love Sten’s writing style, and I want to read another one of her books soon.

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of @TheBacheloretteParty.

#TheBacheloretteParty #CamilaSten #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #ARC #advancedreader #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bokreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I give this book 3.5 ⭐️

Tessa is a former podcast star who has had something happen to derail her career. She has been invited to Isle Blind for her friend Anneliese’s bachelorette party.

We meet several friends that are also coming on the getaway. Lena, Tessa’s sister, Mikaela, Irene, Adam, Anneliese, and Natalie.

We also have a dual timeline of Matilda, Irene’s sister, who disappeared ten years prior. Along with her four friends. Tessa is hoping to uncover what happened and relaunch her career.

Honestly, I felt like the only characters I really liked were Natalie & Adam.

While this story was good, it was not something I had to finish right away. While I was reading I kept turning the page to see what happened. I was able to put it down and come back to it without a sense of urgency. The first half is much slower than the second half. I was able to guess some of the plot but not all of it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own

A twisted and dark fast paced thriller set on a beautiful but secluded island. Tessa and her friends set out for a bachelorette party that they will never forget. But Tessa has her own agenda. She’s trying to fix her life and find answers to a mystery that’s over 10 years old, thinking that would finally get her career back on track. She finds more than she bargained for and now she has to make it out alive to finally reveal what really happened all those years ago.

I really wanted to love this one… I thought the cover was beautiful and the premise of the storyline had SO much potential! But unfortunately… this one just didn’t hit for me 😕

The story moved really slow and had a LOT of characters to keep up with—especially with the dual timelines. 😵‍💫 As an audiobook, it was even harder to follow, and I felt like I missed some of the deeper plotlines because I was just trying to keep the characters straight. 🤷‍♀️

The twists were there, but honestly… kind of predictable. I kept waiting for that mind-blowing moment, but it never quite landed the way I hoped. I loved the idea of Tessa chasing a mystery from the past while trying to make sense of the present—but the execution just didn’t deliver for me. 😔