I'm really loving Rachel Hawkins! She's quickly becoming a favorite. Another terrific book by her. Great writing, fun characters and some twisty twists and turns!

Reckless Girls is a fun travel thriller with a little locked door mystery mixed in. Put a bunch of strangers on a tropical island and find all of them have mysterious pasts and alternate motives. Probably be a better movie than book but it was a fun and very quick read for those looking to escape the news and the cold this week!

3.5 stars. I debated rounding up or down, but I ultimately decided to round up because I think this book accomplished what it was supposed to: it’s a highly entertaining page-turner that kept me guessing.

25-year-old Lux McAllister is switching between jobs and unsure of how to return to the person she was before her mother’s death. When college best friends Brittany and Amma hire Lux and her boyfriend Nico to sail them to deserted Meroe Island, Lux decides she’ll embrace the island adventure. But as soon as they set sail, things feel more than a little off. Lux is feeling ignored by Nico and senses some strange vibes between Brittany and Amma. Plus, when they reach the island and unexpectedly run into more people, things take a dark turn.

I really enjoyed Lux’s narration and related to both her feeling lost in life and some of her reactions to things (plus she and I went to the same university, which is cool!). I adored the contrast between Hawkins’ breezy writing style and the slowly building tension. It’s easy to picture the setting — the bright sunlight and the expansive ocean — and how it could be both beautiful and sinister. Lux starts to realize everyone’s got something a little off about them: they’re either too charismatic, too unhinged, too spaced out, or too innocent. And when hints are dropped and secrets are revealed, the possibilities seem endless and it’s hard to stop reading.

This had the potential to be a 5-star book, but unfortunately there’s a glaring hole in a critical part of the plot. I kept hoping — praying — it would be addressed somewhere, and when it wasn’t, I finished the book disappointed and with way too many questions. I guess if you’re looking for a quick, entertaining read, and can suspend disbelief about what people’s natural thought processes should be, then you’ll probably be satisfied in the end. But god, it’s bugging me so much that certain characters had close to no reaction where there should have been a big reaction.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book and Hawkins’ writing style, even with the significant plot hole. I’ve enjoyed both of her books I’ve read — this one and Her Royal Highness — so it’s clear that she’s talented at writing engaging stories in a variety of genres. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Hawkins!

Buddy read with Hsinju! Check out her review here!

content warnings: alcohol (recreational), mentions of drunk driving, drug use, blood, gore, death, murder, death of a parent (cancer), death of loved ones (car accident), divorce, gun violence, misogyny

I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty solid thriller! I didn't guess the twist- or even come close to it. A few parts were hard to stomach just because of how awful the characters treated each other!

Whoa! What an intense ride this one was. I knew from the get-go that something bad was going to happen—four people setting out on the big ocean in a small boat, the two couples knowing pretty much nothing about each other. You just know that's not going to turn out well. And there was nothing I could do to stop the bad from happening.

So this intense story, full of twists and turns, that goes where I'm not expecting it to go had me racing to the end. But then, I almost got whiplash at the head-turning ending. Wait, what just happened? I had to read the ending again to try to understand it. Another whoa!

Thank you Rachel Hawkins for another great thriller. Reckless Girls is a definite must read for an amazing experience!

The simple life…..it’s the dream that Lux and Nico are longing for. In spite of living in Hawaii, this couple has found the island less than fulfilling. Both are working dead end jobs that leave them longing for a life that seems just beyond their reach. The promise of adventure leaves Lux and Nico wanting more than they can possibly afford.

The prospect of landing a new expedition for hire lifts the spirits of this duo. A job sailing two college friends to the South Pacific is just the ticket Nico and Lux need to get their relationship back on track. Expecting a profitable journey, the duo sets sail with their guests to a secluded island full of mystery, intrigue, and the rumor of a potential paradise. What they didn’t expect was to find another vessel already anchored on the beach of the island.

Determined to make the most of their circumstances, Lux and Nico join the owners of Azure Sky off the coast and enjoy the comradery, libations, and friendship that their new island mates have to offer. Living off the grid, this group of six adventurers find themselves enjoying the sun, sand, and surf. All is well until a drifter manages to crash their exclusive island. This stranger manages to pull secrets from every member of this small group of explorers. Fissures in these newly formed friendships begin to form. Leaving the island isn’t an option and the travelers begin to learn that nothing is as it seems.

Soon Lux will find herself questioning every motive and reaction. No one is immune from the danger lurking around the island. Each moment brings another twist to this game of survival.

Reckless Girls is the latest release from Rachel Hawkins. When I heard the hype surrounding this new release, I couldn’t wait to dive into the world of sailing the forbidden seas. I love a good suspense based read, and Reckless Girls definitely fit that bill. Lux and Nico are in a rut in their relationship. With the promise of adventure on the horizon, the duo sets sail for an adventure of a lifetime.

Meroe Island is a place with beautiful beaches and intriguing mystery. Everything about this book kept me glued to my reader. Nothing is simple for Lux in this game called life. The only question is if she can weather the storm that surrounds Meroe Island.

This book had so much potential, and I enjoyed many parts of it. I loved the idea of a deserted island, a smaller cast of characters, and the intrigue of mysterious strangers. However, this book unfortunately had me wanting a lot more. The pacing was slow, which made me hope for a huge twist, but ultimately, there was a rather large plot hole that I couldn't look past. I also struggled with some of the plausibility of the plot. I know thrillers typically have a bit of unbelievability, but this one was taken a little to the extreme for my tastes.

While this wasn't my favorite book, I still enjoyed reading it and the escape to a sunny island that lent. I think many readers would enjoy this one, especially during these cold winter months when we all need a little bit of an escape. I did love the theme of female power/rage, which is always a hit with me. And I'll certainly still read Rachel Hawkins books long into the future.

This fast-paced suspense read is the ultimate "trouble in paradise" story, with twist and turns that kept me hooked throughout the drunken excess of the largely self-obsessed characters.

In Reckless Girls, the newest novel by Rachel Hawkins, Lux is a frustrated young woman who's just done what she said she never would: she followed a boy.

But to be fair, she's emerging from a fog of trauma after her mother's death, her father has abandoned her, and she dropped out of college to take care of her mom when she was sick, so Lux is drifting. And Nico is handsome, charming, adoring of Lux--and he promised adventure and new-found freedom that she can't resist.

But the couple's grand plans to sail the world have come to a standstill. Nico's boat is damaged, and he and Lux are working menial jobs in Hawaii so they can get it repaired and get on their way.

When a wealthy pair of recent college graduates show up and offer to pay for the boat's repairs and want to hire Lux and Nico to take them to a remote atoll for a couple of weeks, Nico is sure their troubles are behind them.

But Lux has a bad sense about all of this, and while the reader has the benefit of flashes forward in time to intense danger, Lux herself can't figure out why she's feeling so hesitant to go on a trip to a remote paradise.

Reckless Girls swirls around issues of money, class, misogyny, anger, suspicion, revenge, dashed hopes, a desire for adventure, people aren’t who they seem to be, mercenary impulses, and, ultimately, the survival of the fiercest. Characters repeatedly make ill-advised choices and largely stay in drunken, sunburned fogs of excess and denial, and they do it all against a luxurious, eerie backdrop of the ultimate deserted island setting.

The point of view shifts between first person and third person and the storytelling switches from past to present, and both of these structural decisions allow for interesting manipulations of accounts of events and of identities. I'm not sure how the details work with the ending and identities and a certain boat, and I didn't feel particularly emotionally connected to the characters, but I was more than willing to roll with whatever Hawkins was laying out for readers in the fast-paced, entertaining suspense story Reckless Girls.

I received an advance digital edition of this book--which was published yesterday--courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

Rachel Hawkins is also the author of The Wife Upstairs--another solid suspense read with magnetic twists and turns--as well as the Hex Hall, Rebel Belle, and Royals series.

I read this in less than 24 hours, couldn't put it down. There's something to be said for that even if the tale is wild.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s currently a balmy 16 degrees in central Maine, with a “feels like” temp of 6 🥶🥶

It probably goes unsaid that a trip to a deserted tropical Pacific island sounds heavenly right now. Thanks to Rachel Hawkins @ladyhawkins and St. Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress I just took a fantastic vicarious vacation.

After last year’s The Wife Upstairs, Rachel Hawkins’, follow-up thriller, Reckless Girls, is every bit as addictive. For those of us stuck in an arctic tundra, it’s the perfect escape. For those of you lucky enough to have a sunny vacation planned, it’s just what you want in your beach bag. Plus, it’s available today and so you don’t have to wait!

Link to 1/4/2022 Instagram review post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYUch0Rrfid/

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this eARC via netgalley.

3.25 stars

Lux and her boyfriend are about to embark on a trip to the remote Meroe Island to take a couple of girls who wish for them to charter them out there. Meroe Island is a picturesque island escape at first glance, but there is much danger lurking all around. This group is surprised by other travelers looking for a little slice of paradise as well. As all stay on the island unexpected things begin to occur and tension soon rises for everyone.

I love the name of our main character Lux. I really enjoyed reading from her perspective as well. There are little snippets of POV change as well at times that are well placed to provide additional information about other characters. I think that the formatting for the book was well done and helped add intrigue to the story.

This author is good about adding a mysterious feel throughout her stories. I like how the mysterious element of danger is weaved in throughout the story as tension occurs. I appreciate how the reader is about to learn more about the past of some of the characters as well. I also love how she adds complexity to her characters and provides much change.

Overall I did find the story to be intriguing. Some parts of the book were a little slow and you have to realize that the thriller part is more subtle than intense. I did enjoy this book for the most part but I do think that it could have had a bit more mystery, thrill, and action overall to make it more memorable.

Wickedly Plotted. Gothic. Sinister. Wild.

Do not get on these girls’ BAD side. Watch your back. REVENGE. You know something sinister and evil is coming.

My nerves are shot after reading two very claustrophobic thrillers in isolated places with little way to get help PLUS not knowing the true identity of the people you are traveling with spells tragedy waiting to happen.

First, Lisa Gardner’s ONE STEP TOO FAR, where Frankie is in the wilderness mountains with a group with a killer among them and no way to escape (incredible)! Secondly, Rachel Hawkins’ RECKLESS GIRLS, where they are stuck on a deserted island with no radios, with more than one killer as their travel companion, and no way to escape. DARK SECRETS.

Note to self: Travel alone is the safest way.

Let me catch my breath! I might have to read something less heart-pounding next. Maybe take a break and try a historical fiction title between my next thriller. Don’t laugh. I just read 10 thrillers back to back but do not want to take up all the space talking about them.

Now back to RECKLESS GIRLS. TRUST NO ONE!

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are living in Hawaii. They live with many people (all twenty-something) with no money, and Lux just wants to travel on the boat to exotic islands and experience adventure.

She has dead-end job cleaning rooms at a swank resort. Nico is a rich, good-looking boyfriend who takes no money from his family, works at a marina, and has a boat that needs expensive repairs. She thinks fate has stepped in when she gets fired from her job (funny story here) and they get an offer.

Then next, two wealthy female college students (Brittany and Amma) want to pay Nico to take them to this mysterious Meroe Island in the South Pacific. They will pay big money and a way to get the boat repaired, and Lux can come along.

All sounds too good to be true, right? What sounds like a perfect getaway adventure on an exotic island turns into a nightmare from hell.

They find another rich guy, Jake, and his girlfriend, Eliza, upon arrival. They did not plan on sharing the island, but they seem cool, plus they have good food and wine. (so much more).

However, mix tons of booze, sex, drugs, and isolation with fellow travelers with hidden pasts and secrets— a disaster. An easy way to hide bodies.

Then another boat shows up with a guy named Robbie, and he is not so nice and causes more problems. Two weeks in and their radios stolen, all the facades start crumbling. Will anyone make it out alive?

Who will be the survivor?

Hats off to the author! What a complex, multi-layered crazy, witty, and suspenseful tale that I read in one day! You must keep reading to discover how all these characters’ pasts connect.

If you enjoy survivor stories and those mysterious islands with history and boat murders, this one is for you. A fun note is included from the author, and it sounds like she enjoyed writing this one as a dream from childhood.

Yes, the summary is right on. Those fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley most definitely and fans of authors Megan Miranda and Lisa Jewell will enjoy this suspense thriller. In addition, if you watched or read Harlan Coben’s STAY CLOSE, you must read RECKLESS GIRLS.

Get ready for a wild journey and have your lifeboat ready. You may want to think twice about your next voyage.
Get this one on your 2022 list.

A special thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an advanced reading copy , Love the cover!

Blog Review:
@JudithDCollins
#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/of 5 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 4, 2022

A frustrating thriller.
Maybe I had an unfairly high expectation for this book and I don't want you to think I hate it but I struggled a bit with this. Suspenseful, no lie but the characters lacked something relatable and for some unlikeable with the long awaited twist didn't hit me after investing in the story. A good read but wanted more.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this 'closed room' mystery. There are six main characters and a side character or two thrown in for fun. They are trapped on an island after something happens to their radios. When people start turning up dead you need to decide - natural causes? murder? Who among the group would commit murder? Who can you trust?

You have various perspectives in this story with a before and an after. It isn't explained exactly how the before relates to the after until later in the book. The relationships between certain people and the secrets each person has are slowly revealed a bit at a time keeping the reader engaged.

The characters do make some dumb decisions, but they are young, trapped on a gorgeous island, and alcohol/drugs are involved, so I think that is to be expected. Overall, I didn't find those poor decisions to be too unrealistic.

I thought the opening scene really grabbed the readers attention. The following scene was when Lux lost her job and I thought it was quite funny. So, for me, this book started out just right. I ended up reading almost the whole thing in one day and did not lose interest at all.

I enjoyed Reckless Girls and the story kept me intrigued, so I read it pretty quickly. The POV changes between different characters, although Lux is narrator more often than the others. I enjoyed trying to piece together the clues from each POV. There are also letters, emails, and other snippets between some chapters that give information from others outside of the main characters. I liked that those were thrown in there to add some mystery and maybe answer some questions. The setting is beautiful with wonderful descriptions of the ocean and the sand. It’s lovely to read about warm weather and cool water during winter. I felt that the ending was a weird way to wrap it all up, but it didn’t ruin the overall story for me. I was a big fan of the movie The Beach, so maybe that’s why I enjoyed this fun island thriller. ☀️

*I did a mix of ebook and audio and I think the narrator did an amazing job with all of the accents and personalities. However, I just love this bright cover! I know I’m going to want to own a physical copy of the book soon even though I have the ebook. However you read or listen, I hope you enjoy Reckless Girls!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the rich history that came with Reckless Girls and found myself more intrigued by the background than what was going on in the story. I enjoyed it, but really wish we got more of the deep roots of Hawa'ii. This is definitely a book for those that love edge of your seat books.

Reckless Girls is about a woman named Lux who lives in Maui. Her boyfriend is hired by two women to sail to a remote island in the Pacific, and Lux joins the trip - but things definitely don’t go as planned.

If you’re trying to decide if you should read this book, let me help you out. If you like:

-exciting thrillers
-sailboats
-fluid, easy-to-read writing
-creepy abandoned island settings
-multiple POVs
-books that make you feel like you’re traveling somewhere new

…then you should definitely read Reckless Girls! I liked how the characters all had interesting backstories, leading them all to the island where everything goes down. It’s not the most plausible story ever, but it’s got some depth to it and it’s hard to put down 👏

Six strangers simmering with secrets sailed to the South Pacific… say it seven times fast …and now you’re as breathless as you’ll be when you finish this wild ride!

Reckless Girls starts with Lux McAllister and her new-ish boyfriend, Nico, getting hired to sail two college besties to a remote island in the South Pacific. Lux is grieving a recent loss, lonely, and longing for adventure. Brittany and Amma claim they just want a unique experience, but it doesn’t take long for Lux to realize their pair is hiding something and seeking an escape.

When the crew arrives at Meroe Island–infamous for not only its gorgeous, tranquil setting but also a history of shipwrecks, possible cannibalism, and other dark mysteries–they find they’re not alone. The strangers start out embracing their off-grid adventure together, basking in the serenity and escape they all craved, but the arrival of another sailor offsets the fragile balance. Cue the chaos and suspicion.

There are also epistolary bits woven in, from articles, to postcards/letters, and even social media post exchanges. It’s an interesting way to add mystery and intrigue and break up parts of the story. Lux was a dreamy main character. It was so empowering to follow her growth throughout the story. It’s the kind of growth that comes with learning from really crappy choices at times, but growth nonetheless. I love how often the title came into play, and feel like Hawkins gave us lots to think about with the choice. The way everything came together in the end was jaw-droppingly good, like any fabulous thriller should be!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC!

🌺 PUB DAY REVIEW 🌺

Reckless Girls
Rachel Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨


Happy Publication Day to Reckless Girls and Rachel Hawkins! Thank you @netgalley for an early review copy.

Reckless Girls is an island lock-in thriller, following a group of extremely shallow and “reckless” people as they try to relax in their isolation. It doesn’t really work out that way.

This was an easy to read, well paced thriller. It is not particularly long, and is the perfect beach read thriller. I’m honestly kind of surprised this is being released in January, because this book feels perfect for June.

The novel itself is full of shallow and not very likeable characters, and I feel like the plot itself reflects that at times. I found myself rolling my eyes a handful of times, but despite that, I couldn’t help but move quickly through this book. There are some solid twists, though I do feel like some of them were a bit obvious. Overall, I would say it’s a pretty middle of the road experience.

If you are looking for a quick and fast paced thriller, this could be just the book for you. Be prepared for characters you won’t like, a whole lot of gratuitous language, and some cheap thrills, and you just may have a great time.

Although this book was definitely addictive, I thoroughly disliked the characters. All of them were so selfish and transparent, which took away from the enjoyment of the novel. Even the main character began to grate on my nerves. Overall, the story was well-written and fun to read.