Secret islands. Vanished friends. Yoga retreats with way more blood than bliss. Camilla Sten’s The Bachelorette Party delivers a chilling blend of The Guest List and Scream; a remote-island thriller where secrets don’t stay buried and true crime obsession comes with deadly consequences. 😱

I flew through this one. It’s twisty, atmospheric, and the dual timelines kept me hooked. The setup is genius: a glamorous bachelorette trip to a suspiciously familiar island gives a failing podcaster her last shot at solving an unsolved disappearance. Sten knows how to build suspense, and the eerie, isolated vibes? Chef’s kiss. 🌫️🌊

That said, a few characters blurred together for me, and I wanted a little more emotional punch behind the reveals. Still, the final act delivered on drama and left me thinking twice about any future yoga retreats. 🧘‍♀️🔪

This book hooked me right from the beginning! I loved the two different story lines and I was invested in both of them equally. With so many characters it was difficult to keep track of everyone at first but it got easier towards the end. This was a great popcorn thriller read and the ending did not disappoint. It also has an absolutely beautiful cover!

Overall a great read and would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A bachelorette party is being held on an island where ten years earlier four friends who had gone on an overnight trip to the same island were brutally murdered. There are similarities between the two groups and the woman who has built the hotel on the island is the sister of one of the four friends that were brutally murdered. The rumor was that they were drunk and took a boat out which capsized and they all drowned, but her sister knew that wasn’t true and was determined to get the bachelorette to admit the truth and set things right or at least get revenge.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and leave this review voluntarily.

2.5⭐️

“Sometimes there’s no such thing as okay. Sometimes all there is, is good enough.”

Reading the blurb for this book I thought it was going to be different but the plot twist just really fell flat for me. I feel like there was a lot going on that I had to start taking notes of who all the characters were and how they were related. There were a lot of unnecessary details in the book like the emails, text messages, blog post that just really didn’t need to be there. Overall, it was an interesting enough story to hold my attention but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for my ARC of "The Bachelorette Party" by Camilla Sten. I have loved other books by Camilla but this one did not do it for me unfortunately. I kept picking it up and giving it another try and it could not keep my interest. I didn't like the characters and the bouncing back and forth in timelines was kind of confusing.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have for Sten's other books. The ending was too obvious and dramatic for my taste, and I wasn't interested in the characters. I still look forward to reading whatever Sten has planned for her next book. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy.

Sadly, a DNF for now.
This book did not resonate with me after attempting to read it multiple times. Might give it another try in the future.

The characters were distinct and memorable, each adding their own flair to the story. The plot had strong horror movie vibes—dark, eerie, and full of suspense. While some of the twists were easy to see coming, the overall ride was still entertaining and enjoyable. A solid read for fans of creepy, twisty tales.

This was… good. I was very confused for the first like 3rd of the book. I had to restart it twice and was still a little bit confused and idk if I’m stupid or what. But then ending was good. I called it for sure but that’s fine. I like how it wrapped up. It wasn’t my favorite thriller but since it’s not normally my genre.. it was good. I would probably closer rate it to a 3.25 or 3.5 rather than 3 but overall it was good.

First of all, this cover is bang, boom, pop. Looooooove.

I loved the dual timeline and I am always down for a locked room mystery! What the heck happened to these four women? Tessa was determined to find out what happened to these unlikable besauches and well, it's really fun.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me a copy. It's my pleasure to write an honest review!

2.5⭐️
This book started off strong and then lost steam about halfway through. The plot became increasingly more unbelievable from that point. The repetitive plot lines and gore at the end of the book were not my favorite either.

I’ve never read anything by Camilla Sten before, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

This story is told from two different timelines, 2012 and 2022. Two sets of friends visit an island 10 years apart. This book had me on the edge of my seat as it gives a “horror movie” vibe.

If you like thrillers and slasher plots, add this to your TBR.

~Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy. The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten will be published June 10, 2025

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Bachelorette Party, by Camilla Sten, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I swear I thought I’d read books by Camilla Sten, but I reckon I was getting her confused with Camilla Läckberg. (Is it a requirement that one be named Camilla if one is a Swedish female author of crime fiction?)

That aside, this was a very good book, and makes me want to read more by Ms Sten.

I just wish I were better at articulating what makes a mystery very good vs OK or spectacular. I told my husband when I finished this book that it was a combination of the energy and believability, I think….not too convoluted-y, gives one a fighting chance at figuring out the criminal/s, characters interact like regular human beings for the most part….

“It’s an art,” he said.

It is indeed.

DESCRIPTION
Most Anticipated by Goodreads

Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

On a remote island nestled off the coast of Sweden, four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. Best friends since childhood, the idea is to drink beer, dance by the water, and shake off the weight of life's expectations. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. One night of reckless fun and secret-sharing, and then they return to their normal lives.

Ten Years Later. Ever since she was a teenager, Tessa Nilsson has been consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared. As her true crime fervor turned into a wildly popular podcast, Tessa covered Sweden’s most gruesome cases, but could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared. Now Tessa’s podcast has crashed and burned, any chance she had at uncovering the truth vanishing with it.

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The destination: Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago that it raises the hair on Tessa’s neck. The idea is to drink gallons of cava, do sunrise yoga, and get in their last chance to bond with the bride. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

And it’s someone else’s last chance to get revenge.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

There were so many characters that it was hard to keep up with who was who. The timelines jumped from past to present, which also led to more confusion. Ultimately, it led to me choosing to DNF this book at 11%. I was constantly having to go back and reread the previous page to hopefully understand what was going on. This could just be a me thing. I do see how people will end up loving this book.

i tired so hard to listen to this but just couldn't push myself to suffer through this.

thankful i got the audio arc

4.5 ⭐️

[i received this advanced reader copy via netgalley in return for my honest review]

This was my first book by this author and i was blown away! Fantastic thriller. I went in pretty blindly and was immediately intrigued. The first chapter literally got pulled me right in and this book kept my attention the entire time. Addicting & full of plot twists! I thought i had it pretty figured out but i definitely did not LOL i stayed up late tonight finishing it because i had to know how it ended. I thought it tied together really well! Great read

2.75 ⭐️ rounded up.

While the author does a good job of building the setting of the story well, the actual plot feels very jumpy from one point to the next. There are attempts at creating a jump scare moment where you feel the crescendo, but it gets hung up at the turning point.

The twist was somewhat predictable, minus the extra layers of it. While you can see some things coming, there are bonus bits that come out of the field, which I do feel helped wrap up the ending a bit.

I guess I somewhat don't understand why Irene wanted to build this lush relaxing resort on the island where her sister disappeared in the first place when she clearly was distraught by it. This whole story could have taken place in an entirely different location, and it wouldn't really have made a difference to the overall plot.

I do also feel this one got quite a bit gory for a thriller.

I really enjoyed The Lost Village by Sten and was sooo looking forward to this one. The Bachelorette Party is a quick and twisty thriller, asking the reader to suspend quite a bit of disbelief. Ultimately though, this one packs a punch and I enjoyed the journey from start to finish.

I loved the scorned podcaster MC in this one and the cattiness and deception of some of the other girls. Having just been on a bachelorette recently - can confirm that they feel a bit “murder-y” at times - LOL.

Check this one out if you love thrillers, islands, bachelorette parties, and multiple timelines!!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC of this wild title!**

So many great elements in this thriller! I really enjoyed reading it. Can’t wait for more people to read it so I can yap about it.

The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten had all the ingredients I enjoy in a thriller: a remote island, a long-unsolved mystery, and a group of people who aren’t quite as safe as they think they are. The concept was intriguing, especially the idea of a hidden island that only a few people know about, and the dual timelines kept the pace moving.

That said, while the setup was compelling, the execution didn’t completely wow me. The twist was fairly easy to spot early on, and I never really connected with the characters. They felt a bit flat or hard to root for. Still, the atmosphere was great and the story kept me turning the pages.

If you like locked-door mysteries or thrillers set in isolated locations, this one is definitely worth a read. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s an entertaining escape with just enough suspense to keep you hooked.