I’m not sure what I was expecting with this because I’ve literally seen no raving reviews, but either way, I was disappointed.

Here’s what worked for me:
-the cover is beautiful, right?

- I thought the premise was good. I liked the unsettling vibe throughout, like I was just waiting for people to start eating each other.

- the pace was a little iffy, but I did read over half the book in one sitting, so I was definitely interested.

Here’s what didn’t work:
- pretty much every single character in the entire book. They all sucked.

- the ending was too much for me. Way too much.

- okay so a friend pointed out this huge thing that literally ruined the book for me & made me wonder how it got past editors? Idk y’all.

Do I have anything nice to say? Eh, kinda. As I type this, I really think 3 stars is generous, but it did keep my interest so there’s that. Also, did I mention Nico and Amma suck?

This one was just OK for me. I’m a huge fan of Paula Hawkins but this just simply wasn’t her best. I find it was geared towards a much you ginger audience than her previous novels and am slightly disappointed

Well, I'm in the team that liked this one.

Was it unbelievable at the end? You bet it was. Nevertheless, I enjoyed its craziness.

Lux is a young woman who has lost a lot in life already. Her father married again and started a new family without her. She and her mom moved to San Diego after their divorce. Then, her mother gets sick and Lux quits college to take care of her, losing her after a battle with cancer. Lux decides she doesn't want to go back to college and starts working as a waitress. Here is where she meets Nico, a gorgeous guy who comes from money. He has his own boat, the Susannah, and he offers to take her sailing around the world. The first stop is Hawaii but once they get there, unfortunately, the boat needs repairs so Lux works as a maid while Nico is happy working at the marina.

Then, two college girls, Brittany and Amma, offer Nico 50 K to take them to Meroe Island for a couple of weeks to enjoy life unplugged. Nevermind, that the island is thought to be cursed due to its dark past. Nico accepts the proposal in a second and Lux is welcome to come with them too.

When they arrive at Meroe Island, a Catamaran, The Azure Sky, is already there. Elisa and her boyfriend Jake are the owners and they are welcoming and glad to share their own supplies of amazing food and alcohol.

Then, one more person arrives in a sailboat, Robbie. He doesn't seem to click with the rest and shortly he seems menacing.

Lux doesn't know what to think about Robbie. She is worried about him but then she also starts realizing that no one on the island is exactly truthful about who they really are and their motives to be there too.

Reckless Girls is a welcome locker room type of book, atmospheric and enticing. The audio was fantastic. Kudos to Barrie Kreinik for bringing it all to life. She was awesome in The Good Sister so I knew I was going to love her in this one too.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ooof. I hate giving less than stellar reviews, and typically if I don't like a book, I just won't review it, but alas. This was an e-arc I was kindly gifted in exchange for my honest review, so here we go.

First and foremost, I LOVED this author's first book The Wife Upstairs, so I for sure thought this one was going to be a hit for me. The setting was an absolute win for me. The desolate island scene is right up my alley. But aside from that and the very ending/twist, it all fell flat for me.

"Fuck" is on almost every single page. Like multiple times. And as someone who is a frequent user of the word "fuck", I did not think a limit could exist that would bother me in a book, but it was used so unneccessarily that it begun to be very annoying and kind of ruined the reading experience. I also felt like nothing really happened for the first 75% of the book and then everything plays out in the last 25%- basically almost no pay off for sticking it out through the whole book.

2 stars, but I will still pick up Rachel Hawkins' next book since I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs so much.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy of this one.

This was an interesting premise- a girl and her boyfriend going on a trip to a deserted island and picking up some travel companions along the way. What will happen on the creepy island? Will everyone survive?

Ultimately this was just an okay story for me. I ended up listening to it and if I read it t I may have had a hard time finishing it. There were some shocking events but it wasn't that exciting of a story.

Ever since I was first introduced to Rachel Hawkins for her early novels and then her adult novels starting with The Wife Upstairs I have been hooked. When I was invited to review the ARC of Reckless Girls I could not pass up the opportunity. Needless to say, Hawkins did not disappoint with Reckless Girls.

Reckless Girls introduces the character Lux McAllister and her boyfriend, Nico, a couple who are ready for adventure. So when the opportunity comes to them to set sail to a remote island in the South Pacific with the two women that employed them, Lux and Nico cannot resist the offer. Lux soon becomes quick friends with Brittany and Amma, the two that employed Nico to transport them to the remote island. However, Lux hesitates when she discovers that there are too many unexpected secrets involving the two women, especially when Amma becomes uncomfortably close to Nico.

Soon enough the quartet finds their escape in Meroe Island. The island is the remote tropical paradise they all were waiting for. However, the island holds a deadly secret and the remote escape is short lived as another couple joins the quartet. Jack and Eliza arrive on the Azure Sky and they are every inch of the perfect, wealthy duo. Just like the rest, Jack and Eliza are keeping their own secrets.

As the group of six spend time together relaxing, partying, and becoming closer temptation and betrayal arises. The tension in the area and the unraveling of secrets increases as an unwelcome guest joins the six and his arrival ends up in death.

Meroe Island is supposed to be cursed. Most of the group laugh it off but Lux hesitates wondering if perhaps the curse could be real. After all, things she never would have done before she now has done, and the group begins to turn against each other. Lux harbors a hidden rage that rises to the surface upon discovering Nico and Amma in bed together after a night of hardcore partying. The group begins to disintegrate as friends as pasts become revealed and everyone in the group is discovered to not be who they seem. In the end none are truly innocent and the blood ends up on many of their hands, including the hands of Lux. As one goes missing and another turns up dead and then the body count begins to increase it leaves the question whether any of them will end up alive or if the curse of Meroe Island will remain...

Hawkins knocks it out of the park with Reckless Girls. The twists and turns she wove through the Wife Upstairs is nothing compared to the fast paced rollercoaster she puts the reader through as the story gains momentum. The ending had to be the most thrilling twist. If you want a book that is going to keep your attention and question the idea of who people are and who they say they are then this is certainly the book for you. So many Reckless Girls... and one of them prevails as the most reckless and witty of them all. Until next time, happy reading!

Reckless Girls by @ladyhawkins is the perfect thriller to read when you’re looking to warm up this winter.

With nothing much left for her in California, Lux decides to follow her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii. After months of trying to make ends meet, Lux and Nico finally get the chance to hit it big.

Amma and Brittany want to take a trip to a remote, uninhabited island, and they hire Lux and Nico to take them there. When they arrive, they’re surprised to find another couple already there. Now, what could possible go wrong?

I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, so I’m really not surprised that I also really liked this one.

Reckless Girls was exactly what I wanted: a fast-paced thriller with satisfactory twists and surprises. The story was intriguing, and Hawkins does a good job of building suspense that kept me immersed in the story.

I think this one can be read all year. I really liked reading this one when it was chilly out.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Rachel Hawkins for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reckless Girl was the getaway I didn't know I needed!

Rachel Hawkin's Thriller debut of The WIfe of Upstairs left me knowing that she was going to be a must-read author for me, and now that I know she writes under another alias, my personal library is full of her books.

A slow burn thriller with a premises that made me go "hmmmm." A boat trip alone with 2 random strangers to an island with an ominous past? Sounds completely sketchy to me. I'm in! The characters were completely untrustworthy and quite frankly unlikable, which just made me want more. When you start comparing yourself to any character in The Lord of the Flies then you know it's going to be bad. Reckless girl is well written, and the plot, and plot twists are executed perfectly.

What started off as a fun trip to a remote island
escalated into one murder and then one by one they fall. I definitely guessed the twists but I still really enjoyed Lux as character. She was flawed and sad and just trying to build a new life after the death of her mother. She was lot stronger than she initially thought. I liked how the story went back and forth between the island and the
girls' past that lead them to hire Nico and Lux to take them to the island. Over all this one was a really fun read with plenty of action towards the end and have to say I really enjoyed the ending. Rachel Hawkins is now a must read author for me.

Reckless Girls was a really fun beach read. I really liked the locked room feel on a deserted island setting. I liked it up until the end which didn’t make sense and just wasn’t believable or satisfying. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend for fans of The Wife Upstairs or We Were Never Here.

I was really excited for this one. The hype was REALLY in effect and I may have fallen victim to overhype. The book was okay, it felt like a slow go for me and I was not sucked into the plot. I love a tight thriller and this one felt like it just kinda lagged to me. I finished it, but didn't love my time spent. I have some of the author's other books on my TBR so I'm still excited to read them, this was just not the thriller for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I always love good adult mysteries that i can recommend to my HS students, and this one fits that bill. The plot is intriguing, the pacing flows wonderfully, and the characters are really well-developed. AND. That ending was beyond satisfying! Would also make a good book club pick!

Gorgeous gorgeous girls go on reckless, wild adventures. Forgive me, I couldn't help myself.

Reckless Girls was the "locked room"-esque novel I needed to knock me out of my reading slump. It consumed me for a day, drawing me in with an intriguing main character and a plot that held all sorts of threat. I read it knowing something bad was going to happen, I just didn't know what, and that feeling of unease festered in me, pushing me to continue turning the pages.

Lux follows along, she thinks what her boyfriend wants is what she wants, that adventure is for her, but when the first big opportunity for adventure comes for them she shies away. They're in Hawaii, they sleep on a friend's floor, and their boat isn't operational, so this should be the chance of a lifetime. Only, who accepts money from strangers to take them to a deserted island? Lux and her boyfriend do, that's who. What begins as an expedition filled with blossoming friendships and alcohol soon turns scary. Four friends becomes six friends and then a seventh arrives and it all comes crashing down.

What Reckless Girls lacks in what we normally expect in a thriller, it makes up for with atmosphere. It features a gorgeous island far from civilization with a dark history and six strangers holding tightly to their secrets. There's a sense of unease throughout the whole novel, with the twists and reveals not occurring until well after the 50% mark. You root for listless Lux, you see this trip bring her back to life and out of her stupor, but what she does with that life is so unexpected.

Reckless Girls was an absolute winner for me. A suspense about twenty-somethings that will hook you and pull you in.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins begins with introducing us to two of the six characters that will wind up on an isolated island together. Lux is my favorite character as I think she resembles that lost child, that lost girl that many of us can relate to especially when we were young adults. She does not always make the best decisions, but she is trying to have connections and build a life. Nico, Brittany and Amma seem like they have some dark layers underneath all those natural vibes. Later on the island we meet Liza and Jake, two more people to add to the mix.

What I liked most about Reckless Girls was that it was action packed with many secrets and plot twists. I also liked that the flashbacks revealed a lot more about the character so that the reader has a closer look at the secrets and stories for each character.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this review copy of Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins. As always, my opinions are my own and my review is voluntary.

This book was such a fun ride! I received this arc a few months ago on NetGalley and also ordered it in my BOTM box because LOOK AT THIS COVER 😍

This was a fast paced island mystery, set on a mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The way Rachel Hawkins described everything in this book, it was so vivid I could picture it all in my head as if I was there and could easily see this being made into a movie! I could not put this one down!

What an interesting voyage this book was 🤪
I loved the escape to warm climates while it is snowing and freezing in my reality.

Lux follows her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii with the promise of adventures at sea aboard his boat. Brittany and Amma are looking for someone to take them to a remote island. The pairs link up for the trip and meet Jake and Eliza on the island. Is what happened on this remote island because of its past, or is it the people on the island who bring the darkness.

Normally jumping around a ton isn’t my favorite way to read. But in this book I enjoyed the past and present as well as different story lines with each character. The suspense building lead me to believe everyone’s motive was the winning one.

I loved the ending of this book!! The twists were amazing! I 100% recommend this book!! It is worth the read or listen!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC for me to read and review!

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read this one because I changed my kindle email address and forgot to update it on Netgalley, so it never arrived to my device. *facepalm*

I loved Hawkin's first book and was so excited to read this one.

It was kind of slow at some points. The ending was a surprise, though. It was definitely a unique concept, but it just couldn’t keep my attention for very long.

This was just pure entertainment and I liked the slow pace it took to have the story unfold. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but I liked going along for the ride. I did have to look up and double check I understood the ending, but overall Rachel Hawkins is an author I feel I can depend on to deliver the kind of mystery/thriller I like.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Started out very slow and took me a while to get into this book. I almost abandoned it, but decided to stick with it and I'm glad I did. It had some good twists towards the end.