★☆☆☆☆

Seven horror fans. One remote island. A dream retreat turned deadly.

Kalah, a poison control hotline operator and avid horror reader, jumps at the chance to join six other book lovers for an all-expenses-paid retreat on Isla Tumba. The lure? To preview a debut novel said to be so terrifying it could scare readers to death. But when one guest vanishes without a trace, paradise turns sinister. As more disappear, paranoia runs high—someone on the island is a killer. Kalah must navigate fear, secrets, and the island’s dark past before she becomes the next victim.

Unfortunately, while the premise hooked me, this book was a huge struggle to finish. I only pushed through in hopes something would redeem it. Character development was almost non-existent—particularly for the male characters, who felt like interchangeable plot devices. Oddly, one character’s name switched between Dwight and Dwayne around the 40% mark, which was distracting. I never understood why everyone immediately assumed Leon was the killer when there were other, more obvious suspects. I guessed the culprit after the first disappearance, which killed the suspense.

Kalah herself was hard to root for—judgmental, unfriendly, and not particularly engaging. The writing felt overly simplistic for the intended demographic, more suited to YA than adult horror. I quickly grew tired of repetitive travel scenes around the island, and wanted more depth to the backstory—especially as the subplot involving “Sean” felt implausible and unconvincing. The ending didn’t make sense and the tension gave way to predictability, leaving the plot feeling like a messy slasher flick without cohesion.

I usually enjoy a “story within a story,” but here it didn’t work. It almost felt like the author was mocking slasher tropes, yet inadvertently delivered exactly the kind of story it was poking fun at.

Thank you to the author, Writer Layne Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I mean with that blurb what more do you want. I had to read this. It is mysterious and intriguing right from the start. There are a lot of characters in the beginning but trust the process. I really enjoyed the storyline and how the author unraveled the plot.

Reader’s Retreat was a harrowing tale full of drama and intrigue. Kalah, a poison control center nurse, is a women with a secret. She had a terrifying encounter with her stalker and had to move across the country for some piece of mind. Her favorite pastime is reading thrillers and is thrilled to win an all-expense paid trip to a private island in return for reading and reviewing an unpublished novel with a ragtag group of other fans, influencers and agents. For the first time in years, she can finally relax and stop looking over her shoulder or so she thinks. The idyllic trip quickly goes awry once the group find a seemingly human severed finger which eerily mirrors the first chapters of the book they are reviewing. What first appears to be a publicity stunt quickly becomes a terrifying situation as members of the group start to go missing and turn up very dead. Trapped on the island with little food and no way to contact the mainland, Kalah and her fellow islanders face the reality that no one can save them from themselves and no one is who they say they are. The fast paced thriller keeps up the relentless suspense right up until the last page.

ARC Review - Reader’s Retreat by Michael Layne

Thank you to Michael Layne and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC and give my opinion!

I really enjoyed this thriller! It kept me intrigued from the first chapter until the very end of the book.

Things I loved about this book:
-The tension and pacing
-The Agatha Christie vibes
-The setting and ambiance
-The twists and turns

Reader’s Retreat by Michael Layne had such a promising premise: seven horror fans flown to a private island to read an exclusive new novel by a mysterious author. What could go wrong? Well… everything.

From the moment they arrive, the dream getaway turns into a nightmare. The resort is run down, clearly abandoned, and the “accommodations” are barely livable. The group is confined to small huts with only the bare essentials and told they can only read five chapters of the book per day. Before long, eerie occurrences start happening, and one by one, the guests begin to vanish. What happened on this island and who can you trust?

The beginning absolutely hooked me when I started reading late one night and it creeped me out in the best way, but as the story went on…it unraveled. The suspense gave way to predictability, and the plot started to feel like a disorganized slasher flick with more chaos than cohesion. It lost the unique edge it started with, and by the end, I was forcing myself to finish.

This one had potential, but unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver for me.

This is "The Writers Retreat" except....not good.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Review of Reader’s Retreat by Michael Layne
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

A group of thriller fans gather at a remote island retreat, but things quickly get creepy when people start disappearing. What should’ve been a fun getaway turns into a tense, locked-room mystery.

I enjoyed Reader’s Retreat. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was readable and held my attention. The isolated, slightly rundown resort gave off a great eerie vibe that I liked. I also appreciated that the main character—a nurse with experience dealing with poisons—added an interesting layer to the story and made some plot points more believable. The story has that classic And Then There Were None feel, with paranoia building as the guests try to figure out who’s behind it all. Multiple POVs helped keep things interesting, though some character choices felt a little off. Overall, it’s a solid thriller.

Read this if you like:
• Isolated, creepy settings like rundown resorts or islands
• Locked-room or closed-circle mysteries
• Agatha Christie vibes with a modern spin
• Multiple POV suspense
• Red herrings, twists and turns, and a satisfying ending
• Stories about trust, betrayal, and the line between fiction and reality
• Book within a book trope

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Writer Layne Publishing for providing this eARC that will be released August 1 2025.

Readers Retreat literally has me side eyeing the characters and I'm only 20% into the story. Its mysterious and intriguing from the start. 15 chapters in and I'm on the edge of my seat anticipating what's to come. The past and present within the story is a good add as it allows insight of the main character and helps to paint a better picture. It does take the writer sometime to pull out a twist or even hint at one which brought it into the category of suspenseful for me. The writer was very detailed making this a great who dun it. Its packed with twist and gasp moments. The story did feel a little long but the chapters weren't so it balanced out. This was my first Michael Layne read but definitely not the last.

Thank you Netgalley, Writer Layne Publishing & Xpressobooktours for the eARC. This review is that of my own.

Thank you NetGalley for early access to this novel in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This book held such a great premise and had me hooked with what was actually going on. I did guess the twists so that is why I rounded down and I felt like the ending was a little lackluster but overall I had fun reading this book and will definitely be reading more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!
3.5 star rating

Going on a tropical reading retreat on an island with other book influencers sounds like such a dream but how quickly it turns into a nightmare.

This book is great for fans of Lord of the Flies and Cast Away. The author does a great job of painting a clear picture of the setting, which helped to create suspense between characters and the natural elements of the island around them.

Where this lost ratings for me was in the ending; unless he’s leaving it open for a sequel?

Reader's Retreat by Michael Layne was a quick and fun read that I finished in a few hours.
The story itself was suspenseful and enjoyable, The characters were great and the style of writing was good.
I will definitely pick up another book written by Layne in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Writer Layne Publishing for this ARC.

Imagine sitting back and relaxing on a secluded Key West jungle island for a week, reviewing the ARC of a debut thriller about—what else?—surviving a mysterious and deadly island. Who wouldn’t want to go? Honestly… sign me up and I’m there with my spf50.

But then the resort caretaker leans in and says, “You’d be surprised what people think they can get away with out here, so far from the regular world.” That’s your first red flag. And trust me—it won’t be your last.

If you took Gilligan’s Island, stripped away the laughs, added the brutality of Lord of the Flies, the isolation of Cast Away, and the social dynamics of Survivor, you’d have a pretty good idea of the vibe here. One rule: trust no one.

Our cast? A suspicious group of nine influencers, reviewers, and #BookTok / #NetGalleyReader / #Bookstagram types. But the real threat isn’t just the people—it’s the island itself. Nature is out for blood: bark and striped scorpions, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, toxic plants, venomous frogs, crocodile-infested swamps, and tides that could sweep you out to sea.

Not everyone will be lounging with piña coladas and glowing tans, reading to their hearts’ content. Some might literally burst open. As Jack warns Kalah, our MC: “This is not how this week was supposed to turn out. We were only supposed to be reading about death—not experiencing it.”

Who knew being a book nerd could be this treacherous? Honestly, if NetGalley rented out this island, we might just get our reviews done a lot faster—for fear of not surviving the week.

Unite my eReaders!
Thanks #NetGalley, author Michael Layne & Writer Layne Publishing for the ARC!

This book had so much potential but ultimately fell flat for me. The writing felt overly simplistic, almost like it was geared toward a young adult audience rather than its intended demographic. While the premise initially intrigued me, I found myself not caring about the characters or their journey as the story progressed. By the halfway point, I was forcing myself to finish rather than feeling compelled to keep turning the pages. It’s a shame because there were strong ideas here, but the execution just didn’t deliver.

Thank you for the opportunity.

This is 4 star rounded up. This read a bit slower than I had hoped it would.

The suspense was there, even if a bit far fetched. I wish there had been more backstory and more character development. I felt the middle part of the book kept going back and forth a bit.

While part of the ending was a surprise, some of it wasn't. I also feel like at the end it could have been written out a bit more because for me it kind of fell flat.

This was my first book from Michael Layne. I thought it was a good premise for a book. 7 thriller fans go to a secluded island to read an authors ARC. So, like NetGalley on an Island. Not bad. Then, pretty quickly, people start to disappear and we're left to wonder who is the bad guy on this island? One of them? The caretaker of the island? Someone else entirely?

I thought that the main character was a little...I don't know the word...quirky? But she also didn't make too many bad decisions. She seemed to be pretty logical most of the time, which i appreciated. There's nothing worse than reading a book where the main character makes a million horrible decisions that no one in their right mind would make, and she didn't seem to make too many like that.

There were a few different twists that I didn't see coming and the end wasn't what I was expecting either.

Overall, I did enjoy it. It was a pretty quick read and the atmosphere on the island that he created was also good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

4.5 ☆ I wasn't sure I'd get into this book when I first started reading it. I feel like it started off a bit slow or something, and introduced too many characters at once had me wondering if I'd remember who they all were.. (It didn't really matter in the end), but I was really interested to see where it went. I'm glad I stuck with it because I actually really enjoyed it! This is the first book I've read by Layne, and I'm definitely keen to read his other books.

The location description was great. It was really immersive and creates a great atmosphere. I feel like I have a good mental map of the island.

I had a few moments of thinking I knew whodunit, but of course, the twists had me second guessing, and by the end, I was completely off.

Thanks so much for this ARC. It was a pleasure and a truly gripping and fun read!

This book had amazing summer vibes. I loved the premise of the story, inviting out a few thriller lovers to read an ARC of an author's book. But what they don't realize is that they will be soon living out the books chapters in real life! I thought I knew the answers to the plot twists, but I was wrong each time. I didn't absolutely love the ending, but I can see where it leaves the book open for the possibility of a sequel. Would highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Michael Layne, and Writer Layne Publishing for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

3 stars!

a group of readers are invited to a thriller author’s island to be the first to read his upcoming novel, death island. but suddenly, the events of the novel start to occur in the real world and the readers must scramble to survive, get off the island, and discover the truth behind this mysterious writer.

the concept of this thriller is very captivating. i was intrigued by the idea of plot coming to life. it was a very predictable plot but still a very fun read.

i didn’t connect with any of the characters much and felt as if they were all strangers. i wish we got a little bit more into the mindset of each with a larger variety of perspectives rather than just at the end.

overall, i had a good time reading this!

Absolutely loved the premise and setting of this book. It starts off a little slow but still keeps you engaged and then it picks up and packs a punch. Guessing who the killer was in the book was so much fun and definitely had you believing it could've been anyone. Thank you to Netgalley and the author, Michael Layne, for letting me read this book in advance for an honest review!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Author for this ARC! This book was wild! So much going on but it all tied in-together perfectly! The first part of the book I was a little worried because it felt very slow moving! But it definitely picked up around 45% in and was good from there on out! Spoilers ahead! I was completely shocked when i found out Ruth was the killer! Completely blew my mind, and all because of her dead cheating husband! She definitely was crazy! The only part I didn’t like was when they found the severed finger on the path and they kind of freaked out but then didn’t really have emotions towards it after. Id be freaking out if i found a damn severed finger on an island I was stuck on! Loved this book though!