This is quite the social experiment. It reminded me of Big Brother but goes deeper. Jeff Probst would love it as he loves to see how people react to different situations. It gets a little dark towards the end. Made me think of Lord of the Flies or Yellowjackets. Really great debut novel that makes you think.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: unfortunately this one did not work out for me. I loved the premise, and some aspects of it are done well. The things I enjoyed are the survival aspects of playing games to get food but also they would sometimes be tricked into playing a game for something useless. That was interesting. The thing I largely disliked was the characters. They were not likable what so ever (for my taste). The writing also felt pretty dry and straightforward which sometimes is okay but for this story there just wasn’t enough in it for me to fully enjoy it. Because I didn’t care about the characters, and didn’t enjoy the writing, this just wasn’t for me. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was either more over the top or more mysterious with more complex characters or immersive writing. I think the author has a very creative idea, I would try the author again in the future.

The way I was sucked into this book from the start! I can’t give a better description than the official synopsis, “Love Island” meets “Lord of the Flies,” as twenty hot singles arrive to The Compound and compete to be the last one remaining. There’s love, friendship, strategy, and plenty of deceit; a page turner that will keep you coming back to find out who’s banished from the compound next!

Reality TV with a dark little twist… I couldn’t put this one down. The characters were exactly who you picture from your favorite trashy hookup shows, and it’s so easy to love and hate all of them. The “classic” show premise had a fun spin to it, with a touch of politics and consumerism rolled in. I gave this a 3.75 star because of the ending, though. Without giving spoilers, I was glued to the book and excited to see how it wrapped up… there was a good climax, but the conclusion was a real letdown. It felt like a big buildup, then a very abrupt finish.

If you’re a reality love show fan, I think this one will spark your interest, especially if you like things a little dark and thrilling.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Love island meets Lord of the Flies in this new novel. It’s unclear what’s happening outside the compound but inside contestants have to complete tasks to get the basics like food, sunblock and even a door. How far will the contestants go? Also if you don’t pair with another contestant each night and wake up next to one you are sent home.Reading this book is like being a fly on the wall of a reality tv show while it’s being filmed. Fans of these kinds of shows will love this book and recognize what the author is doing to expose what really goes on behind the scenes. Different from anything else out there.

This is one of those books that while you're reading, you're like WTF? And then when you get to the last page, you flip back and forth and say WTF?

I've never watched "Love Island" and it's been at least a decade since I last read "Lord of the Flies" so I can't speak to how it's advertised. BUT! I can speak to how you're likely going to go into this one thinking it'll be a bit of fun but the longer you read, the more you're questioning your own morals and how you would behave in such an environment.

I have a lot of questions about what exactly is happening outside the walls of The Compound and I guess we'll really never know.

If you're looking for a read that's set in a dystopian world where people are willing to sacrifice A LOT to not be on the outside world and the way it's written is you get to experience a reality show from a first person POV, this one's for you.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle is a tense, high-stakes psychological thriller that expertly unravels its secrets layer by layer. Rawle’s tight prose and mounting suspense keep you hooked till the very last moment. A deliciously sinister read.

This is in my running for my favorite book of 2025 so far!

I do watch some Love Island, so I was certainly intrigued by this dystopian satire on shows similar to it. And from the start, I was as hooked on this book as many are on the shows. I think if you do watch these shows, you’ll pick up on more than if you don’t, but I think you could have a good time either way.

The book went deeper than I expected, hitting on topics these types of shows get criticism for: vanity, over-sexualization, male intimidation, misogyny, racism heteronormativity, and consumerism/overconsumption. And it kept hitting on a major point that I feel many can relate to in our current times - the pointless feeling some of us get going to work at silly little jobs while the world burns.

In this dystopia, I guess production companies can get away with a lot more, because these contestants go through some torture. But, I don’t feel like it got as dark as I was expecting it to, based on other reviews. Still, check trigger warnings.

On a lighter note, this book was funny! There’s a running joke that a contestant keeps using big words incorrectly (as you do sometimes see on these shows!) and it’s my favorite gag every time it’s casually dropped into the dialogue.

The Compound had what I felt was a satisfying ending, though I’m not sure everyone may agree on that point.

The concept of this was truly fascinating to me. I love any sort of weird thriller/mystery revolving around a TV show. Nothing is what it seems to be, and the Compound is in disarray. I enjoyed the parallels with real life, and the way the commentary was woven into the narrative of the story. My only real gripe is the ending. It felt too abrupt for my tastes, though I can understand the choice to end the story like that, I just wanted more from it---perhaps a deeper look into Lily and her choices. Overall, though, this was a sort of surreal but great read.

The Compound starts with ten women, waking up in a bizarre compound in an undisclosed location in the middle of the desert for a reality TV show. It feels very dystopian - It is supposed to be a gorgeous house, but it is in a state of disarray - and many items are damaged. The women wait for the men to show up - the men having to traverse through the desert to arrive at the house. When only nine men arrive, you realize that something is "off", and this utopian set is not what it claims to be. The Compound has many rules - the main rule is if you wake up alone - you are banished. This sets up a competition to pair up, which is ratcheted up with both team and individual challenges to obtain both goods for the group, and individual prizes from sponsors. You experience the Compound through the POV of one contestant - Lily, a twenty-something beautiful women who craves the fame and the swag that she could win. The book says a lot of the voyeurism nature of reality shows, and also what people will do for fame and "stuff". I read quickly to see just how far Lily would go to win the show, but the ending really felt abrupt. Not a fan of the ending - I wanted more resolution of what Lily would choose or some redemption that she was not as shallow as she appeared. I wish I had someone to talk to about this book! Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

The Compound is the site of a reality television show where the contestants remain in the game only if they wake in the morning next to someone of the opposite sex. The narrator of the novel is Lily, who was ranked by the men as the second most beautiful woman of the ten original female contestants, but who felt that she was one of the least interesting. The rules at the Compound are explicit: (1) residents are forbidden to discuss that the show was in fact a show because it ruined the experience for the viewing audience; (2) residents could not discuss their life outside the compound; and (3) residents could not harm another resident.

A big screen announces Communal Tasks that the residents can agree to perform to win rewards, such as a couch for the living room, wood (the Compound lacked doors), and food supplies. A small screen offers the residents Personal Tasks that, if accomplished, come with personal rewards, such as grooming supplies or clothing. Personal rewards require the resident to thank the donating brand which gives rise to future marketing opportunities. Because residents cannot disclose their Personal Tasks, it is unclear to the other contestants if they were acting on instructions or behaving spontaneously.

Lily initially teams up with Ryan (voted by the women as most handsome man of the nine original male contestants) which she believed would create “great moments of television,” but she has formed an interest in the intellectual Sam. Lily feels safe as long as Ryan wants her, but she is afraid that her lack of interest in a sexual relationship with him may jeopardize her hold on Ryan, a fear that is more fully realized when she learns that he is having sex with Vanessa, the blonde whose body all men desired. Lily knows that she has to hold on to Ryan until the final five when couples no longer matter.

As Lily successfully survives rounds of elimination, she grows closer to the other contestants but, as the stakes get higher, she is forced to weigh her friendships against the drive to win. Rawle, an English teacher in a secondary school in Dublin, has created a negative view of a world that doesn’t seem too far removed from how we are presently living. This debut novel is as addictive as a guilty pleasure binge-watch of “Love Island,” but with the heft of good literature. Thank you Madison Dettlinger at Random House and Net Galley for an advance copy of the perfect beach read.

4.5⭐
Part Love Island, part Black Mirror, The Compound takes place on the set of a hit reality show in a near-future society mired in war and hardship. 10 women and 10 men must pair up to make it through the night, and compete for a series of rewards ranging from basic necessities to increasingly lavish luxuries. How far would you go to win it all?

This book is slow but searing, simmering with tension as it pits human connection against material desires. Beneath the glossy surface of reality TV, the Compound’s residents contend with just how much they're willing to trade for comfort, status, and luxury, exposing the darker threads of desire, performance, and consumerism propping it all up. With love and survival on the line, what does it really mean to win - and at what cost?

Hints of devastation in the outside world create a contrast with the Compound’s curated paradise, where the residents are constantly performing for the cameras and each other. While I wanted to know more about the world beyond the set, there was enough to fill in the blanks, and the vagueness added to the sense of unease and desperation to stay in the Compound. The story starts out light and superficial, but slowly builds unease as it devolves into the darker side of the influencer-consumer culture, leaving you with lingering questions about meaning, desire, and the cost of wanting more.

Thanks to Random House for the advance review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Ms. Rawle for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I was so surprised by this book. Looking at the sunbaked cover and reading the blurb I was sort of expecting a beach read, and throw in the Love Island references? I was expecting competition and drama and soap galore and that was... not at all it.

So this is actually more of a dystopian angle on a reality TV competition; it's implied but not explicitly stated that things outside the compound aren't all that great. Is it a war? Is it a climate disaster? Is it a depression? Is it a combination of problems? Who knows. Suffice to say that these "contestants" are willing to humiliate themselves, to sacrifice their pride and their morals and their ethics, for things, for position, for appearances. I found the comparison to Lord of the Flies a little too apt to be completely honest. I mean, times have changed since William Golding's classic: there are very few deserted islands for civilization to devolve in complete splendid isolation nowadays. Twenty (or, 19, I suppose) men and women purposefully and voluntarily isolated, jockeying for position, for an indeterminate amount of time? That's about as close as we can come at this point.

I really liked Lily. Like most reality TV participants, she's attractive and a bit bland. She could be me, if I were prettier; she could be you. She's competition enough to stay safe for a while, certainly. We don't know too much about Lily personally and I thought that was so appropriate. Reality TV contestants aren't open books either; what you see is NOT who they really are. I would liken them more to actors than regular people. I'm familiar with casting of several shows and the entire premise and plot are scripted 99.9% percent. I mean, there's the odd couple who marry after the Bachelorette, or whatever, but for every one of those there a THOUSAND Kardashians or House Hunters or Survivors. I only read a couple of reviews prior to reading this book because I didn't want any spoilers, but one review I did read said that this book is a commentary on performance culture and I think that is absolutely, one hundred percent accurate. Every action in this book seemed entirely calculated for viewers or potential sponsors. Every interaction seemed thoroughly planned.

The author has excellent little tiny gems of insightful social observation throughout, but my favorite was the initial portion where Jacintha laments that if there are only "white boys, [she's] screwed because white boys never go for the Black girl" and then further when Lily observes that Jacintha is pursuing Carlos (who is also Black) as the safest and best option to attract a man and stay safe
(read: remain in the Compound) overnight. The "attractiveness rankings" was also a really poignant scene in which objectification is verbalized and realized and it's SO awkward and squeamish, and yet so believable.

The setting was excellent. I really couldn't say specifically why, but initially I was strongly reminded of a vaguely pre-Mad-Max Australia. The slightly run-down yet still grand compound with its dusty surrounds and giant pool was so easy to visualize I could practically smell it.

Overall this was one of those books that took me by surprise and then lingered. Well done Ms. Rawle, this is one I'll remember.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I quit watching reality TV many years ago when it became apparent that the "reality" was not real. Aisling Rawle drops readers into THE COMPOUND in the first chapter along with the 20 young, beautiful contestants. But this reality show is a little different. Part of the allure of this reality show is that it is not just a contest. The world outside the contest is already harsh, with conditions and challenges far worse than the contestants face on set. It puts a spin on some of the contestants' attitudes. Rawle lays out the compound so well, I could "see" it, smell it, and feel the dirt and dust. Her characters are three-dimensional. The story itself is compelling; you'll cheer for some and hiss the others. The decisions of each raise questions. Is this really worth what they are going through? Overall, this is a 5-star read that my reading circle is going to love.

20 people, ten men, and ten women, are at the compound. They will be tested and watched by millions, with each task giving them something they need and/or want. Who will stay standing the longest, and what will they do to win?

Ok the publisher synopsis for this one made it seem like these people didn’t know they were headed to the compound, which didn’t feel completely accurate while reading. It also mentioned the unrest in the outside world, which you can assume while reading, but again it isn’t really gone into. I do kind of wish we got a bit more about what was happening in the world, but I still really enjoyed this debut! It was a bit Perfect Match meets The Challenge meets The Mole which was so fun to read instead of watch! It was so unique and I loved finding out what everyone got for completing their tasks…give me those diamond studs please! I kind of do want them to make this into a show now because while I loved reading, I would love to watch along as well! I don’t want to say much more because I went into this one pretty blind and I think you should too!

Thank you to @randomhouse for my gifted copy of this book!

This was so bizarre and I was riveted. WHAT. I don’t watch loved island but I vividly remember being excited for Big Brother when it first aired and I was a 10 years old. That was probably what first sparked my interest in human psychology and behavior. I don’t usually care for books with too many characters but I felt like these were all unique enough to keep them straight and I’m still thinking about this book a month later and don’t need a single refresher to come back and write this review. This book was totally bonkers and I want more.

This one felt like The Hunger Games meets Love Island on the surface, but it didn’t fully deliver for me.

I struggled to connect with any of the characters or couples. There wasn’t anyone to root for, which made the high-stakes premise feel a little hollow. I think I would’ve been more invested if we had a clearer understanding of why each character chose to enter the Compound. Their motivations felt vague, which made their decisions harder to care about. If you’re going to open your book by quoting 1984, you’ve got to commit to the dystopian worldbuilding and the social commentary that comes with it. I just wanted more depth behind the spectacle.

Came for the Love Island premise, stayed for the depth. This book wasn’t on my radar, and went into it blind, so I was surprised at how it delivered a highly enjoyable but also thought provoking story. A lot of books try to balance the entertainment factor and cultural examination, but this one was done very successfully as it traversed consumerism, gender roles, race, class, and more, all within a TV show format where the audience and producers are voyeurs to all the drama and manipulate the will of the contestants. It’s also weird, but accessible. Funny but smart. Everything I was looking for in a summer read.

Mild spoiler: I HAVE to know what happened to Andrew when they took him to receive medical care. What did they do to you Andrew?!?

Absolutely will recommend to others, and looking forward to more from this debut author! Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy. It’s out now - opinions are my own.

Obviously I’m gonna read a life-or-death version of Love Island. Give me the beach drama, secret alliances, and flirty tension—but make it deadly. I want stolen kisses and plot twists that could literally kill someone. Trust issues and betrayal? Absolutely. But also sun-kissed chaos and people falling in love while the world burns a little.

Romance + survival stakes = chef’s kiss.

HAPPY PUB DAY TO THIS BOMBSHELL (THE COMPOUND), WHO JUST ENTERED THE VILLA (your favorite bookstore/your local library)✨💛

I had the pleasure of reading and receiving this book and gifted PR Box from @atrandombooks a few months ago and I seriously haven’t stopped thinking about it since!!! The perfect amount of fast paced drama and slow-burn storytelling….CHEF’S KISS😘

The comparisons for this book that I heard previously were "Love Island meets Lord of the Flies" but I believe that undersells this book a little bit. I'm an avid fan of both Love Island and Lord of the Flies, but looking through the lens of a reality dating show to analyze rampant consumerism, capitalism, and our voyeuristic nature was even better than I expected.