This was SO GOOD.
I loved the premise of the story - a bachelorette party gone wrong (putting it mildly).
The build up to the twists had me gripping the edge of my seat!
I loved the narrator as well! Her voice matched all the characters effortlessly

Rating: 3 stars
Format: Audiobook (ALC)
Genre: Thriller

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review!

This had a really good setup but I wanted it to be CRAZIER. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed seeing Tessa’s development and the development of her relationships with the other women. I think the back and forth of Tessa’s plot line with flashbacks to the four women who went missing was done well. The reveal was okay, but didn’t surprise or excite me. I also thought the writing was captivating and had a lot of fun snarky moments. There was also solid action towards the end and pretty high stakes. I think if you’re a fan of thrillers, this one won’t blow you away, but it was still a fun time and I enjoyed the ride.

The audiobook had a solid performance and I would definitely recommend it in that format.

ARC review of the audiobook.

This story is set in an archipelago in the Baltic Sea outside of Stockholm, Sweden. Four friends travel to an island once a year for an overnight trip, until one year everything goes wrong. These women become known as The Nacka Four.

Ten years later, a group of six friends go to a yoga retreat on the same island for a bachelorette party. And again, everything goes wrong.

The story of the first trip is told through the POV of Tilly, and the second trip is told through the POV of Tessa. Tessa is a true crime fanatic who had a true crime podcast before something terrible happened and her life fell apart. Tessa’s goal for the trip is the get more information and hopefully solve (what she thinks is) the mystery of the Nacka Four and turn her life around.

I liked the dual timeline aspect of this book and I enjoyed the writing. However, I found myself more interested in finding out what happened with Tessa that ruined her life than the actual story of the book. Unfortunately, it was obvious (to me) what was going to happen way too early on. I kept reading in hopes I was wrong, but I wasn’t. I definitely wouldn’t consider this a mystery book. It had a real horror/ thriller movie feel to it which was fun.

Also, the VA is great. Laura Jennings did a great job conveying all of the different emotions from the characters throughout the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. 🖤

A girls trip that turns horrifying after the friends disappear- this book intertwines the past and present, as 10 years later another group of friends gather on the same island for a bachelorette party, and the mystery continues. I had a little trouble keeping track of the characters but I enjoyed the fast pace of this book and the remote island setting.

The Bachelorette Party - Camilla Sten
Pub Date - 6/10/25
Rating - 3/5
Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley, Camilla Sten, and MacMillan Audio for this gifted e-listener copy in exchange for my honest review. This story follows a bachelorette party to a private island not open to the public. Ten years ago, four girls go on their annual girl's trip to the island, and suddenly go missing. I was hooked into the story especially since the beginning when the missing girls are introduced. The story had me engaged until the end when the big reveal happened. I didn't love how that was written and had to listen twice to make sure I understood what happens. The story ends kinda abruptly and was rushed overall. The book was fine, nothing special.

This is my first Camilla Sten book, and I’ll be back for more. I do like a good thriller with some horror thrown in every now and then. Just a heads up that this one gets a tad bit gory at one point.

I agree with other reviewers that the beginning is slow and there are lots of characters to keep up with, but once you’re in, you’re IN! We go back and forth between several time periods, so you have to pay attention— especially with the audio, but once you get the hang of things you don’t have to worry much.

There are a couple of mysteries going on in an island setting— kind of like your locked room mysteries. Then you have your bachelorette party component thrown in. And then there’s a true crime podcaster. Who can pass up a story like this?

The audio narration is very well done and enhances an already well-written book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced recording of this book.

Publication date is June 10, 2025.

After reading the arc earlier this year, I was excited to see this story brought to life in audio. The narrator did outstanding!

I’ve been on my fair share of bachelorette parties, so I was immediately intrigued by The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten.

Tessa’s podcast used to be a big deal, especially when she covered Sweden’s most haunting unsolved cases. But when four childhood friends vanished without a trace, she never found the answers and the story stuck with her. Years later, her best friend's bachelorette party just happens to be on an island that feels a little too familiar. Tessa sees one last shot at uncovering what really happened.

The setup had me hooked and I loved the eerie island vibes (I'm also always a sucker for a thriller with a podcast tie-in). Early on, I had a tough time keeping track of who was who, and I didn’t totally click with the characters. Even so, the tension builds nicely and the twists land well.

The narration worked well and kept me engaged, especially once the plot started to pick up.

Overall, a solid 3 stars. This was a good listen and I would recommend it to anyone who loves atmospheric popcorn thrillers.

The audio quality was excellent—clear with no distracting background noise. The narrator did a solid job distinguishing between characters, though at times, the tone was a bit too soothing and almost lulled me to sleep.

As for the story itself, I really enjoyed the twist and the claustrophobic setting of being stranded on an island. The dual timelines were well executed, but I felt certain events didn’t get the weight they deserved. While I followed everything that happened, some moments that should have felt more impactful were glossed over.

My biggest critique is the ending—it wrapped up too quickly, and the villains didn’t get the closure or consequences I was hoping for. The build-up was strong, but the payoff lacked depth.

Publication date: June 10, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

The idea of a remote island getaway with friends for a bachelorette party sounds like something bad is bound to happen. Especially when cell phones are taken away and you are at the mercy of the resort staff. This locked room thriller was enjoyable to read, but never “wowed” me. I listed to the audiobook and found my mind drifting at times. Overall it was an enjoyable book and the ending wrapped up the story well.

I understand and partially agree with the other reviewers, it definitely wasn’t a hit for me but I really did enjoy listening to this one. It was a spooky, thriller, murder, mystery kind of book and I typically find they’re all kind of similar. It was clear early on who the killer was and it kind of made parts of the book aggravating. I enjoyed the various timelines but I felt the past timeline was never really completed in the way it could have been. I think this had the potential to be so creepy and complete with just some tweaks

Things have been rough for Tessa Nilsson. Her true crime podcast is over, she’s behind on her mortgage payments, and her life is basically shit. But Anneliese, Tessa’s best friend, is getting married and she can’t miss her bachelorette party no matter how much she prefers to wallow in her despair at home. The party is taking place on a small island that coincidentally also might be the setting for the mysterious disappearance of 4 women several years ago. Naturally, Tessa is curious about the case. One of the missing women was her babysitter and the woman that owns the island is the surviving sister of one of the missing. Perhaps she can talk to her and get her career back on track...

I read Sten's The Lost Village nearly 3 years ago and still think about it, so I was excited to see this. I can see the "Scream meets The Guest List" vibe, and it was good, but it wasn't great. Don't get me wrong - the story was engaging, and I was curious whether Tessa was paranoid and wanting something to happen or whether something was truly happening. But I didn't really connect with any of the characters and while curious about the outcome, I didn't care if anyone survived. Overall, the book was fine, but just that.

Excited that I was able to read this before it's release date in June! I loved the mystery and the suspense.; true crime documentary in book form. The connections that were revealed were wild! It did get a little graphic in parts but it added to the suspense. But obviously, a remote island with a dark past from urban legend lore....Yeah, crazy things are going to happen!

This book dragged. Nothing happened until 35% and even then it was very little. The characters aren’t likeable. The twist was weak. But I did enjoy the bi rep and some of the biphobia that was shared.

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.

Title: The Bachelorette Party
Author: Camilla Sten
Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Minotaur Books
Genre: Thriller
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Laura Jennings
Pub Date: June 10, 2025
My Rating: 2.5 Stars!
Pages: 304

Story is told in dual timeline as both cases involve four friends attending a bachelorette party.

2012: On a private remote island off the coast of Sweden, four friends Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina gather every year to party. However in 2012 something happens and the girls go missing.

Now April 14, 2022- ten years later: Tessa Nilsson, famous true crime podcaster, is invited to her best friend, Anneliese’s, bachelorette party on ‘Blind Island “that seems it might be that same remote island.
Anneliese’s bachelorette party.is more than just partying; she wants the group to go on a Yoga retreat at the ‘Baltic Vinyasa’ with Yogi Irene.
It seems Irene also has a connection to one of those four women that mysteriously went missing back in 2012. Tessa knows this is her opportunity to find out what really happened to those women ten years ago. Hmmm is someone else seeking revenge?

I am a big fan of audiobooks but I struggled with the characters in this story-especially Tessa the protagonist and narrator of the story. I found her unfiltered language unprofessional and unlikeable - I wasn’t sure if it was the narrator’s delivery or if the author intended for her not to be likeable.
I have a low tolerance for profanity but sometimes the story is so good I am okay with it. However –
that wasn’t happening with this story.
I hung in there but it just didn’t work for and was disappointed.

I do want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio - Minotaur Books for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 10, 2025.

The bachelorette party, once again makes me know I would never want to be invited to a destination bachelorette party

I really enjoyed this story. I love a good remote island killer on the loose thriller and I felt that this story delivered.

I try not to guess where a thriller or mystery is going as much as I can, I like to see where the author takes me without expectations, I was flung around by the different twists and turns and really liked the ending and how everything came together. There were multiple layers of mystery within the story and each one felt like it had a satisfying conclusion.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. She captured the myriad different characters very well.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The concept was intriguing and the writing was good, and the narrator Laura Jennings did a great job. Overall, the story itself was ok, the execution felt disconnected. I felt like the mystery of the past and present was a cool concept, but I thought the author trying to link the two throughout and then adding a little side mystery for the main character, Tessa, didn't work and was unneccesary and actually took away from all the mysteries happening in the end. In short, too many mysteries happening. The EEeeekKK! and WHOA! moments, were also not as captivating because of the back and forth. I never knew which mystery was guiding the story and had more importance. It also took away from the final reveal which ended up feeling like there was something missing and didn't feel exciting.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

I want to start out by saying I was so drawn to to this book because of the beautiful artwork on the cover ( I am a huge artwork girly when it comes to covers and sprayed edges). So immediately drawn to that and then the description of the murder mystery plot, I was hooked!! I do think they executed the mystery portion of the book perfectly and the connection between the Nacka 4 and the present. However, there was just so many characters and so many time switches that it was overwhelming and hard to concentrate. I loved the idea and the mystery of the book which is why I am confidently able to give this book a 3-star. I think Camilla Sten is a great writer and it was a great concept but it just kind of got lost at times and that is why I cannot give it a 5 star. The audiobook however, I believe was better due to the narrator having such emotion and fluctuation in her voice. Laura Jennings did such a fantastic job and it really made me enjoy the book more than just reading it! Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St.Martins Press for the ability to read and review this book. These thoughts and opinions are of my own.