I loved the premise of this book. Seven strangers get invited to an island with the promise for luxury. Only to find out things are not as they seem as soon as they arrive. Everyone has a hidden secret and these secrets are to be exposed along the way.
There is also use of advanced technology in the story, which I found interesting. It reminded me a bit of the film Cabin in the Woods. Having the technology aspect definitely made it a fun book to read. I constantly wanted to know what was next and what did the island have in store for the characters.
Along the way you are wondering how the characters are connected, if at all and who knows what. It is a bit of a 'who's done it' mystery, which is an easy and fun read. It was definitely different to the usual books that I read but I loved it and would read more books like this.
I do wish the ending was better than it was. It felt like the author just wanted to wrap it up quickly once you had a few answers. But I also don't feel that everything was answered. There were moments several characters recognised the island, but this was never explained at all. I love the idea of this book, I just feel a bit more could have been done with the story and more questions could have been answered a long the way.
I will definitely check out more books by Susi Holliday as I did still enjoy reading this. I hope she does more similar books in the future.

The premise of this book had me so interested to read it and unfortunately (for me) it was a bit of a let down. The characters are all tricked into coming to this island, drugged so they don't know where they've been sent, required to sign a non-disclosure agreement about their time there, hooked up to a new 'neuro based' technology and somehow it just was not what I expected. It had all the right elements, but the flashbacks and the connections between characters were a little weak. I wanted there to be something more to this whole premise but was left wanting more.

3.5/5 Fun quick read provided you can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Interesting story line and good suspense build-up, but the ending was rather far-fetched and abrupt.

The Last Resort is an enjoyable beach read about seven strangers who are invited to a mysterious island by a shadowy tech corporation. Each person has a terrible secret that will be unwillingly revealed to the group. It’s the Fyre Festival mashed with And Then There Were None squashed up with The Famous Five and quite a lot of Black Mirror.

In summary, a load of old bobbins, but I enjoyed the ride. Susi Holliday can write a good read!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Another book I just couldn't put down! Read it all in one night and then couldn't close my eyes to fall asleep because I was so creeped out! Unfortunately, the book itself wasn't ~FANTASTIC~ but it was gripping and I was definitely sucked into the plot. I think one of my major issues with it was how much disbelief I had to suspend - there were just a bunch of things that never would've flown in real life (e.g. when everyone gets implanted with the devices - sorry but WHO is just cool with a device being stuck into their brains?? Literally NO ONE I know would just roll with that, and the moments like this continued).

I liked the minimal flashbacks to the cliff scenes - I thought those were well done and added to the intrigue. I wasn't wildly surprised by the "twist", and felt that the ending ultimately didn't really match the rest of the book, which was a little disappointing.

The most apt comparison I can make is that this book was like reading a Black Mirror episode. If you can suspend your disbelief (and not get frustrated by it, like I do when I'm supposed to be reading a realistic book), then you will probably like it even more than I did!

Overall, a 3/5. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley.

I spent a sunny afternoon in the garden reading the majority of this.

I watched hunger games recently and i certainly felt there were elements of fighting for survival in this. A mixed bag of charactars are summoned to a island,on paper it sounds idyllic but the reality couldnt be more different.

Action packed and fast paced this delves straight into the storyline.

Fantastic ,unpredictable and chilling. Mysterious and terrifying.

It has a dystopian black mirror feel which i love!.

Published 1st December

This book started out fine. It seemed as though it was a mix of Big Brother and Fantasy Island. I was quite curious and interested in where it would go.

However, once it reached the climax of the story, it fell flat. I found it predictable and it seemed as though the ending was rushed.

It wasn't a terrible book, but it isn't one I can recommend.

Started out well, the premise was intriguing but I found it got more and more ridiculous. The ending (which I was very glad to get to!) was as disappointing as what had gone before it. Sorry, I didn’t enjoy this book and wouldn’t recommend it.

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One perfect crime.

Now this is the mystery novel I needed in my life. The story sounds like it’s been done before. Strangers are invited to stay in a creepy place for a research study. Blah blah blah. BUT GUESS WHAT!?! It is WAY MORE THAN THAT!

The characters are mesmerizing and so alluring. The setting reminds me of somewhere you fall in love with during the day, but at nighttime, it turns into a nightmare.

The story flows effortlessly and I’m amazed at how quickly I read this book from start to finish!

Thank you so much to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for a;lowing me to review this book. This is my first NetGalley review and what a fantastic book.

This story had me gripped from the beginning and I finished it in a day. It was such an interesting concept which I haven't come across before.

The story begins with a group of strangers meeting on a plane. They have each been invited to a new luxury resort but have been told not to tell anyone of their trip. They all come from different backgrounds and have been invited for their particular skills. They arrive on an Island but have no idea where they are and what is going to take place over the coming hours. When they arrive they are all fitted with a tracker which can access their neural pathways. They all hope this means that they will have a personalized luxury experience. The device can access their memories, hopes and fears but all is not as it seems! They are tasked with making it to the big house for a party where all will be revealed.

I found all of the characters really interesting and was particularly drawn to the stoic Amelia. She seemed to be the most sensible of the group and was the one who kept the group together throughout the story. I liked the way each chapter focused on a different character and their perspective. It also kept referring back to what happened in the summer of 2000 which was the premise of the story. I loved how this was all tied up at the end. It was a very Big Brother brother like situation but t'he contestants didn't know what they were involved in. I found the story tense and pacey and I didn't want to put it down. I found the whole technology absolutely terrifying but also quite believable. It's very unusual for a book like this to make you laugh but there were a few moments that I did laugh out loud. I really enjoyed the cultural references too. Such a fantastic book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author..

#TheLastResort #NetGalley
A good read.
Amelia is invited to an all-expenses-paid retreat on a private island, the mysterious offer is too good to refuse. Along with six other strangers, she’s told they’re here to test a brand-new product for Timeo Technologies. But the guests’ excitement soon turns to terror when the real reason for their summons becomes clear.
Each guest has a guilty secret. And when they’re all forced to wear a memory-tracking device that reveals their dark and shameful deeds to their fellow guests, there’s no hiding from the past. This is no luxury retreat—it’s a trap they can’t get out of.
As the clock counts down to the lavish end-of-day party they’ve been promised, injuries and in-fighting split the group.
Characters were creepy but enjoyable.
Narration of the story is excellent.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me an advance copy of this awesome thriller.

I could not get into The Last Resort by Susi Holliday. I didn't connect with any of the characters. The synopsis sounded so good and that the story would be a page-turner. Seven strangers are invited to an all-expense paid retreat on a private island. It's revealed they are testing a memory tracking device, and their darkest secrets are told to the group. Sounds exciting, right? Nope. I had a difficult time getting through the first few chapters, but I kept hoping it would get better. The story was very long and felt too convoluted to be believable, especially the reveal at the end. The concept was interesting, though, but it just wasn't developed well.

#NetGalley #TheLastResort

The premise was great, the execution not so much. The characters are shallow and their 'secrets' are not that great...This was much better executed in And Then There Were None. The ending is pretty ludicrous as well. Thank you for the review copy, unfortunately this was not for me.

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday is like a mixture of And Then There Were None, The Most Dangerous Game, and 1984 all rolled into one lovely psychological thriller. The concept is that 7 people (one couple, but the rest are strangers) are invited invited to an island to provide their feedback on a new type of luxury experience. Each person has to sign a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for the experience and some type of remuneration. Upon arrival, the group begins to feel like less like invited guests and more like contestants on some type of reality show competition (think Big Brother with some touches of Survivor thrown in). Each guest is is promised to have an experience which has been tailor made for them; however, it is quickly revealed that this experience may not be what the guest actually wants. Everyone has a past that they would rather keep hidden, but secrets will be revealed.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the concept of using the advanced technology (I won't elaborate as I don't want to accidentally spoil anything). I liked how the author used the children's book series The Famous Five to help give a back story from the summer of 2000 to introduce mystery characters when they were children (using aliases from The Famous Five). I actually would have loved more from this back story because it also sounded rather fascinating. I also liked how one "minor" interaction between characters can seem trivial to one person while be something much more meaningful to other characters.
While I liked the overall concept of the book, the ending felt a bit rushed to me. I would have liked to have more information from the host. I also think that the final act of the host didn't seem to fit with the development of the character. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but it kind of reminded me of the super villain in a comic book revealing their ultimate evil plan to the super hero and being thwarted by their own reveal. (This is NOT what happened, so NOT a spoiler -- it just felt similar to me.)

Good premise, but I found that the book fell short. The idea of being trapped on an island with a bunch of strangers and being forced to tell all your secrets sounds super fascinating, but I feel like the story is a little off. More than once it compares itself to Black Mirror; in the book.

The premise hooked me immediately, and I was intrigued enough to power through when the first part of the book felt a little too cryptic. Once things started to move, however, I couldn't put it down. Like some of the other reviewers, I was ultimately underwhelmed by the big reveal and had guessed many of the twists in advance. The ending just didn't seem to make sense with the rest of the book.

That said, there were parts of this I loved. Even though the perspectives jumped around quite a bit, I liked seeing the story unfold from different angles. The plot moved quickly and had enough head-scratching moments to keep me flying through the pages. I just wish the reveal made a bigger impact and felt more compatible with the majority of the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for my ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review. I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book and was so excited to be approved for the title. Even though the book is not due to be released until November, I skipped over some of the earlier releases in my NetGalley queue to read this one. I'm sorry to say that I was ultimately very disappointed.

The premise of the book is fantastic! Amelia, an aid worker, is intrigued when she receives an invitation to an all expenses paid, exclusive luxury island resort. Amelia soon finds herself on a private plane with six strangers en route to the island. It quickly becomes clear that none of the passengers on the plane have any idea as to what they have really agreed to. The island resort is owned by the mysterious Timeo Technology corporation and passengers are fitted with a memory tracking device upon arrival. The device not only guides the guests through their own personal journeys, it also reveals the deepest darkest secrets of each person to the rest of the group.The secrets are uniformly horrible and all of the characters are unlikeable.

The technology described in the book is amazing, very much like something you would see on Black Mirror. I get the sense that the author is a big fan of the series as Black Mirror is repeatedly referenced in the novel. I loved that aspect of the story and I was willing to suspend my disbelief just to see where this was headed. Unfortunately, it all falls apart. The author reveals the deepest secrets of the other guests on the island but yet the reader is not given enough background information about any of them to care when they start dropping like flies.

The big reveal at the end is beyond absurd. I still cannot fathom why or how the brief interaction the sole surviving guest had with the evil genius behind Timeo as a child could have resulted in a lifelong obsession. I am a huge fan of Black Mirror type storylines and locked room mysteries. This book truly had the potential to be fantastic but the reasoning behind the villain's actions is just so outlandish and tenuous that I couldn't help but be disappointed.

I think the author is very talented and I enjoyed her ambitious willingness to think outside the box. Although this book was not nearly as good as I hoped, I would be willing to give the author's next release a read.

I tried - but this just got too ridiculous too quickly for me to even be invested enough to want to see it through... I'm fine with some suspension of disbelief - but this one went very far past that very early on. On top of that, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, all of whom were odious or irritating in their own way and felt like tropes trotted out to tick off boxes: ditzy girl, check; hipster dude, check; earnest do - gooder, check; brusque older woman, check; obnoxious American, check. The idea that any - let alone all - of these people would just go along with whatever was presented to them right out of the gate, just felt incredible - and not in a good way... I think I'm just not a good fit for this one. I was invited to review it - the blurb sounded dark and fast paced but I never found my way into caring about what was happening and ultimately it's just not my cup of tea...

I think the book was great and had great characters. The story itself had a new and interesting idea then others that i've read. It had such a great build up but then ended so suddenly in my opinion that it didn't do the story justice.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley.

I have never read this author before. The book started out slow and got strange. I did not like this book at all.

This was a dnf book for me.