Member Reviews
Luxe and her boyfriend Nico are just killing time in Maui, working dead-end jobs, trying to scrape together enough cash to fix up Nico's boat, the Susannah. Their dream is to sail it around the world. When two college age girls, rich tourist types, want to hire Nico to sail them to a remote island for a real off-the-grid experience, to Meroe Island, it seems like the perfect opportunity to bring their dream within reach. Luxe can even come along. When they arrive, it's the paradise that they dreamed of, but they're surprised to find another boat there, the Azure Sky. They make fast friends with the boat's owners and relax into their days in paradise. But soon cracks begin to show in the group dynamics. There are secrets being kept, and everyone is not who they seem.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this book, because I did. It provided some great escapism. I loved the setting and the gorgeous tropical imagery was very well done. There was a great atmosphere of unease and tension created on the creepy island. However, I had some believability issues with the plot. Too many coincidences for my taste. Also I didn't find the characters especially likeable. I get it, bad people do bad things, but I personally enjoy a book more when I have someone to root for. For a thriller, I just didn't find it that thrilling. But it was a fun, soapy escape from this cold PA winter.
Stuck on a gorgeous island in the pacific with a group of young strangers, what could possibly go wrong??
I LOVED The Wife Upstairs last year, so I could not wait to get my hands on Rachel’s newest release! I didn’t disappoint. This was such a fun and fast paced read! I flew through it in no time! I was really rooting for Lux throughout the book and while the ending was shocking, I was so satisfied!!
Read if you like:
•Sailing and travel
•Rich people behaving badly
•Girls out for revenge
•Lord of the flies vibes
•Surprise endings!!
I loved The Wife Upstairs and was so excited for Reckless Girls. This was one wild ride. It is the story of Lux and her boyfriend Nico who are hired to sail two women to a deserted island a few days’ sail from Hawaii. Let’s just say chaos ensues. This is twisted, suspenseful, messy and absolutely bonkers. It definitely goes off the rails and resulted in me yelling at Lux for making some of the worst decisions ever. There were definitely some plot holes but I was hooked with the stress and suspense and was able to suspend reality.
I've been struggling to get into a book after reading a few fantastic ones and was so excited when Reckless Girls drew me in right away. I really loved how this alternated between past and present for the female characters. It was interesting to see what happened in their pasts to bring the to this moment. The build up to what happened on the island was a little slow, but worth it once things really started happening. This had the perfect amount of creepy and suspense for me. Once I got about a third of the way in, I didn't want to put it down and kept squeezing in a few pages whenever I can. I definitely recommend this and need to pick up The Wife Upstairs.
I will update with the link once I share to my bookstagram account.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is a fun and compulsively readable mystery set on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Two boats containing 6 people total embark for the remote island known for its tragic past and beautiful but harsh surroundings. The story is told in alternating timelines for each person and we realize they all have secrets and why they have ended up there. The engaging story moves swiftly with short chapters. It was a really fun, quick read though sometimes you had a suspend disbelief. The audiobook narration by Barrie Kreinik was great and I especially enjoyed the different character's accents. Recommend if you're looking for something light and fast-moving!
Thank you St. Martin's Press / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC.
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
Lux McAllister and her boyfriend Nico moved to Hawaii 6 months ago. When Nico is hired to sail two beautiful women to Meroe Island, Lux agrees to go along. Brittany and Amma are best friends from college, travelling the world on a whim. Meroe island is rumored to be cursed, there’s a long history of shipwrecks, murders, and missing people. When they arrive at the island, they are shocked to see another boat docked; Jake and Eliza are a stunning couple with a well stocked fridge and bar. Soon, the 6 become inseparable, and Lux finally feels like she belongs.
Just as they are settling in, another boat sails to the island, he’s in the mood for a good time but comes off very strange, setting alarm bells off for Lux. The more the story progresses, everyone’s secrets come to light.
Reckless Girls is a fast paced, drama filled, murder mystery thriller. The story is told via multiple POV from past to present day, and it was executed very well, I would say, it would have been helpful to have the name of the character on the “then” parts. I enjoyed this one more than The Wife Upstairs, it ticked all my boxes; unrelatable/unlikable characters, secrets, betrayals, twists and turns and it remained entertaining from beginning to end. This book was dark but also, so much fun to read and play detective. Some of the twists were alluded to at various parts of the book but others took much longer to figure out, I enjoyed the cat and mouse feel of it. Highly recommend it!
Thank you St. Martin's Press and netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.
After loving The Wife Upstairs, I was very excited to read Rachel Hawkins’ latest novel. This book is very different in tone but still really good. There’s an underlying suspense, and you’ll easily detect it. I couldn’t put it down, although I didn’t love the ending. It felt a bit silly. Overall though, I found this to be another solid read from Hawkins. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an arc copy!
What an entertaining read! If you're looking for an enjoyable thriller that you could finish in one or two sittings, then look no further.
I loved the Before and Now timelines where we slowly learned about various characters pasts, and their motivations for being on the island. Even as the puzzle pieces were coming together, there was no way I could have predicted that ending. The deserted island itself was wonderfully creepy! You do have to suspend belief a little with this one as it does get a little crazy... but it's so worth it.
I requested this book because I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, but I think this one is even better.
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the complimentary copy
A young couple in Hawaii is hired to charter a trip to a remote island for two girls who claim to just be looking for a fun adventure. Once they arrive at the island, they find that another couple has beat them there. They join their parties together and make the most of it, until another random guy sails in. Much like a fast-paced movie, this is when the real action begins. All of a sudden, I get a sinister vibe off every single character. This Paradise Island setting seems like a well-orchestrated plot for revenge. Nobody is trustworthy.
She does a nice job of setting up the big twist, but the structure of the book is confusing at first. From the beginning, there are these snippets of articles, comments, and narratives going back in time which give clues about the island and its history. Once the plot turns, these snippets are necessary to explain what drove each of them to pack up their things and basically go off the grid, but I don’t really care for that type of break in the action. The back story about the island history wasn’t needed, in my opinion.
That is just a small thing. Overall, I really liked it. It was perfect for my vacation! 4.5 stars, rounded down for the reason mentioned above. Would recommend!
Alone on a creepy island, 6 young, beautiful, wealthy people (2 couples and a pair of friends) have fun and slowly devolve into fear and revenge.
This twisty domestic suspense is told from the perspectives of the different women and through clippings of stories of what happened on the island in the past (murder!). The novel is really about grief, trauma, and injustice - the things that really drive “reckless girls”.
It all wrapped up a little too neatly (a character explains it all), even though the story telling unfolded the twists clearly enough without needing a final explanation.
All together fun and fast-paced.
This was my first @ladyhawkins book, and I am definitely going to go back and read more by her! Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an early copy of this!
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Synopsis: Lux and her boyfriend Nico are hired to sail two women to a deserted island a couple days from Hawaii. The island is gorgeous and remote, and they quickly bond with the other couple they find there. But the longer they stay on the island, the more cracks begin to form among the friends and couples, and the island's creepy history makes everything more ominous.
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This was so fun, and while objectively not much happens plot-wise for a good chunk of the book, it never felt slow. The background of the island provides the perfect eerie backdrop, and I loved the flashback chapters giving the history of the island as well as insight into each of the women on the island.
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I really liked Lux, the main character, and in particular her friendships with the other women. Even though she was kind of a moron about Nico, it was really easy to root for her.
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The ending was nuts. Very fast, but didn't feel rushed, and had several twists that I did not see coming.
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If you like this book and true crime, I would definitely recommend And The Sea Will Tell. I got major vibes of that throughout this book, which made sense at the author's note, where she says that was part of her inspiration.
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Overall I would definitely recommend, this is a great book to kick off 2022 reading! (Although I wish I was reading it on a tropical beach somewhere)
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC of Reckless Girls by @ladyhawkins ! I absolutely loved her first book, The Wife Upstairs and was so excited to be approved for this one!
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Lux and her boyfriend are hired by two tourists to set sail to a remote island in the South Pacific. Everything is going great and Lux remembers what it’s like to have women friends. But when they arrive on the island…they are met with some other explorers and then things go terribly wrong.
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-This one hooked me from the beginning. And I loved the twists. Snag this one on January 4. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Amma and Brittany can think of no better way to end their trip around the world than with a visit to an isolated, uninhabited, yet very Instagrammable island in the Pacific. In Hawaii, they find Nico, who is willing to captain a boat for the journey—especially for the fee they are willing to pay—as long as his girlfriend, Lux, agrees to come along.
After a multi-day sail, Nico’s boat arrives at Meroe Island—a rumored site of shipwrecks and cannibalism—only to find another party already anchored. Disappointment quickly turns to camaraderie, though, as Eliza and Jake welcome the newcomers with a bounty of food and alcohol.
As the sunny days pass, the six twenty-somethings enjoy leisurely days lounging on the beach or exploring the interior of the island, dense with vegetation, home to an abandoned WWII refueling station with epic parties in the evening. However, the idyllic paradise hides simmering tensions, tragic pasts, and deeply held secrets, and the vacationers realize they don’t know each other as well as they think.
The arrival of a third boat, with Robbie, a crew of one, disrupts the fragile equilibrium as his subtly threatening demeanor puts everyone on edge. When one is found dead and one missing, it’s unclear if any will leave the island alive.
The story is told in dual timelines, Now and Before, from multiple points of view which works well with this book as it contributes to the uncertainty about which characters are trustworthy. It took some time to establish the setting and story; I would have preferred this to have been condensed. However, once Robbie arrived on the island, the action picked up, and there were many unexpected bombshells, although I also noticed a few confusing plot points.
If you liked the movie A PERFECT GETAWAY or the true crime book AND THE SEA WILL TELL, this is a book for you!
I was looking forward to this one after Hawkins “The Wife Upstairs” was on of my favorite thrillers last year. Unfortunately, this one was a big disappointment for me.
After dealing with family heartache, Lux moves to Hawaii with her new sailing captain boyfriend Nico. When the couple is offered to take two girls on a trip to a remote island, the couple feels like this might be the start of the new life they dreamed of. But nothing is as it seems. The group arrive to the island where to their surprise another couple is already there. The groups mingle and become friends enjoying their time on the island. But it turns out this island is anything but peaceful. What lies ahead is anything but fun and little does Lux know, will result in death.
I honestly had the hardest time reading this book. I kept putting it down and picking it up. I didn’t really like any of the characters and had no interest in their constant complaining in every chapter. It was very slow, the twists don’t even occur until 75% into the book. I also am so confused by the ending, it just doesn’t make sense.
Overall, not what I was hoping for but I will continue to read Rachel Hawkins books in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.
Reckless Girls had a fun island setting that was very atmospheric. It has whodunnit vibes and is straightforward and to the point. I enjoyed the short chapters and was compelled enough to continue reading, but unfortunately the ending did not pay off for me. The characters annoyed me a lot of the time and the random flashbacks to different characters’ lives felt really disjointed and made some parts confusing. This will most definitely work for some suspense readers, it just didn’t do it for me.
It has been too many years since I was last on a beach, and I have been trying to convince my husband to remedy that situation for at least two years. After reading Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins, however, I might have to rethink that desire. With its dark tone that belies the tropical setting, in Ms. Hawkins' hands, the beach no longer feels like the safe and relaxing place it usually is.
When trying to describe Reckless Girls, all I can think of are adjectives. Dark. Intense. Seedy. Hedonistic. Unpredictable. Luscious. It is all of these things and more. For the entire novel, you are as clueless as Lux, valiantly trying to understand why all of the other characters seem to know more than you do. It is frustrating and suspenseful.
Then you finally collect all the puzzle pieces, and your jaw drops at the discovery of all the layers of which you were unaware. The calculation, the coldness, the utter confidence in the rightness of their actions makes what follows a true thriller, whether you agree with their actions or not. While not as strong, in my opinion, as The Wife Upstairs, I still enjoyed Reckless Girls to the bitter end. And bitter it is indeed.
I enjoyed reading Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins. This book is a perfect beach type of read and I was quite engaged with the storyline and wanting to see how everything turns out. This is a fairly quick read - had it not been for the holidays - I would have finished it much quicker.. The cover of this book is stunning and perfectly fits this book.. I think this would make a good movie to watch - probably not big screen but maybe Lifetime or Netflix or prime video. Thank you very much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
Lux has followed a guy to Hawaii. What she thought would be sun, sand, and sailing has turned out to be more tedious, taxing, and travail. Then her beau lands a gig that not only will repair his boat but give them the opportunity to get away from it all. Two young ladies want to sail to a deserted island and offer up a lot of cash. What could go wrong?
Once they arrive, another boat is already there. The island is not so deserted, after all. But the couple seem nice and they get along quite well. Six strangers, all with their own secrets, decide to camp out for two weeks. Again, what could go wrong?
When tales of the island's cursed past are discussed, Lux cannot help but wonder if they are indeed true, and if they are in any danger. All seems well until another stranger on another boat arrives. Then things start to go awry.
Each character's past is revealed in clever retellings of the past, interspersed throughout the book. Things begin turn a little dark in paradise. Are any of the characters likeable? That's for you to decide. But the tale is entertaining and keeps you guessing until the big reveal.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Rachel Hawkins for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.
Reckless Girls, by Rachel Hawkins
Short Take: Yeah, I’m just gonna stay on the beach, thanks.
(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)
Good morning Duckies, and welcome to the Between - when we’re still dealing with the Christmas Hangover. No, I don’t just mean from all the delicious booze we enjoyed, but there’s still so much food in the fridge that I’m rapidly growing tired of, decorations that have to be put away, new gadgets and gizmos that need a home in my already overstuffed kitchen. Plus, we’re all staring down the barrel of ANOTHER holiday in just a couple of days, and really, who decided to put these so close together? Couldn’t we space them out a little more?
Anyway.
I was fortunate enough to score an early copy of Reckless Girls, and my beloved nerdlings, it was exactly what I needed to get through the mid-holiday malaise. The plot is simple-ish - Lux McAllister has followed her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii, with the goal of saving up to repair his boat and sail around the world together. So when a couple of wealthy young women offer him a large chunk of cash to sail them to a deserted island with a tragic history for a mini-vacation, Lux and Nico jump on the chance. Arriving to find another couple already on Meroe Island, the six strangers soon become friendly, eating, drinking, and making merry in Paradise.
But of course, all of them have Dark Secrets, and the combination of beautiful-but-maybe-deadly people and a beautiful-but-maybe-deadly island inevitably combusts.
Y’all, there is so much to love about this book. The setting is fantastic, the plot with its various twists and turns and betrayals moves along briskly. The little interludes with the history of the island and its current inhabitants are a great touch, giving us just enough info to ALMOST put it together before the end, but not quite. The only sand in the sunscreen was the characters. There was a sameness to them, all of the women like this, and all of the men like that.
I’m also not entirely sure what the author’s intended tone was with [spoiler]. On one hand, yes, the struggle is often real, and the outcome grossly unfair. But was Ms. Hawkins trying to make a real statement, or was the final chapter meant to be a sort of dark comedy, or satire? Both, maybe? After all the fantastic buildup, the ending felt like one I’ve seen a hundred times before.
Despite that, the setting is fabulous, and Reckless Girls is a quick, fun read.
The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and anything that isn’t leftover ham. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY PLEASE NO MORE HAM.)
Reckless Girls is a wicked suspense set on an isolated Pacific Island with a dark history. Meroe Island is a beautiful island in a desolate spot in the middle of the Ocean. It has a mysterious history of shipwrecks and cannibalism, It is a perfect spot for a free-spirited getaway for the six twenty somethings. As they explore the island and find skeletons and other items, this island becomes more than a carefree vacation. When one person disappears, and another is found dead the environment changes and they all wonder who they can trust. This novel has some surprising twists. I recommend it to those who enjoy suspense novels